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President Bush and supporters of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) like California Democratic Congressman George Miller claim that it will prepare children for college and good jobs. What it really does is send them to the army.
Under NCLB, high schools must give students' names, addresses and telephone numbers to military recruiters in order to get federal school funding. If students do not want the military to have their information, their parents must sign a form or send a letter. This is called "opt-out."
The government provides such a form. It asks that the student's information not be given to anyone -- not the military, not colleges, not businesses offering jobs. Students and parents need to know they can use a different form or even make their own. They can get college and career information without being contacted by the military.
Not all high schools inform students and parents that they can opt out. Parents may or may not receive a letter from the school. The letter may be in a language they don't understand.
Students need to know their rights. They need to tell their schools to let all students and parents know that they can opt out of military recruitment. They can obtain more information about military recruiting from the organizations listed on this page.
Watch out for the promises the military makes. Here is the truth behind their lies:
The military does not give you money for college. You will work hard for anything you do get. Most people actually lose money, because the armed services deduct $100 every month for your first year of service. You give up this $1200 if you can't go back to school after your military service is completed. You also lose the money if you get a "less than honorable" discharge (one out of four do) or leave before your enlistment is up (one out of three do).
The military will not train you for a job you can use when you get out. You get training for a military job. Vice President and former Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney said, "The reason to have a military is to be prepared to fight and win wars ... It's not a jobs program." In fact, more veterans end up unemployed and homeless than people who stay out of the military.
The military is not a great opportunity for women. Recently, 90% of women veterans reported being harassed. One third of them were raped.
Remember, the recruiter's job is to get more people to join the military. They are having a hard time now because people don't want to get killed or injured in Iraq. Don't join if your goal is to get an education or a good job.
Peace and Freedom Party activist John Crockford distributing anti-recruitment flyers at a Fresno City College job fair on April 13. Crockford and others were threatened with arrest by director of college Activities Gurdeep Sihota but continued to distribute their material.
Sergeant Anderson of the campus police department explained that "we are trying to maintain order on campus. You can't have all these different groups handing out fliers and passing around petitions at the same time." Campus police officer Caldwell was concerned about littering and asked "who is going to pay for all of the clean up if some group hands out thousands of fliers that students just throw on the ground?" A question that the writers of the First Amendment probably never asked.
[This is excerpted from Mike Rhodes' Indymedia report "You Can't Be All That You Can Be If You're Dead."]
This piece is accompanied by a cartoon by Mike Konopacki of Huck/Konopacki Labor Cartoons. The cartoon shows a graveyard, with inscriptions on tombstones "U.S. War Dead", "Iraqi War Dead" and "6,000 per Year Die at Work". The caption above reads, "Culture of Life", while that below reads "Memorial Day, 2005". The cartoon, from the May 2005 packet, should be on the web until the May 2006 packet is published.
Most people who enlist are signed up into the Delayed Entry Program (DEP) also called the Delayed Enlistment Program, for up to a year before they report for active duty training.
While DEP recruits have incurred a legal obligation to the military, getting out of DEP is simple. Write a letter requesting separation which fully explains why you are unwilling or unable to serve.
As long as you state clearly that you are no longer interested in joining the military, almost any reason is acceptable.
Recruiters do not have the authority to grant separations and will try to re-sell the military to you. Therefore the letter requesting separation should be addressed to "Commander" at the recruiting station where you signed up. You can look up the address of the recruiting station in the phone book (under U.S. Government) or look on the enlistment agreement. Keep a copy of the letter.
The separation does not affect your record or career.
The recruiters often keep trying to get you to join. Some have threatened jail time or tricked people into reporting to a military base. People who decide not to join need to know their rights and stay away from the recruiters.
Do you think you might join up for a few years, finish your enlistment, and come back home? Think again. The military can extend your term if they need you. Hundreds of soldiers whose enlistments have expired are in Iraq and Afghanistan.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, a man who had just finished his eight year enlistment was redeployed to Afghanistan. (There is still a war there.) He sued to get out. The court said the military can keep him. His term was extended 17 years, until 2023.
The U.S. military offers a "free" test, the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). Many high school students take the test because it claims to help them make career decisions. But ASVAB scores do not measure civilian job skills.
The ASVAB leads directly to the military. To take the test, the student signs a form giving his or her personal information and test scores to military recruiters. The recruiters will use information to pressure students into signing up.
Students need to know two important things. They can request Option 8, which prevents their names from being added to the military's recruiting list. Or, they can refuse to take the test altogether.
The following organizations have information about avoiding military recruitment.
San Diego:
Project YANO
760-634-0450
www.projectyano.org
Oakland:
Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors
510-465-1617
800-665-7682
www.objector.org
Los Angeles:
Coalition Against Militarism in Schools
626-799-9118
www.militaryfreeschools.org
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