Military Steps Up Recruitment- "Yeah, but I don't wanna die."

[bigtree]

Breaking It Down: Military Steps Up Recruitment-
Recruiters Are in Malls, Even Schools, But Are They Telling Kids the Whole Story?

http://abcnews.go.com/US/BreakingItDown/story?id=569054&page=1

{snips}

>>>>I recently learned that U.S. military recruiters can now go into public schools and sit in guidance counseling offices to pursue their recruitment efforts. Then I discovered it is a provision of the No Child Left Behind legislation, which I have talked about before. The law says that any schools accepting federal funds (well, that's virtually every public school in the country) must give military recruiters the same access to students and data about students that college recruiters get.

>>>>The two major problems the military is facing in getting new recruits is waning public support for U.S. involvement in Iraq, and fear. What made the military a terrific career option for youngsters who couldn't afford college isn't viewed as so terrific anymore. It used to be you did your time, learned a skill, served your country, and went on with your life. But now parents and kids are afraid they won't come back from Iraq, or may come back with horrific injuries that would change their lives forever.

There is a growing backlash to the aggressive military recruitment. They call themselves counter-recruiters, a national network of antiwar activists. They include veterans, members of peace groups and teenagers. They say they don't tell kids not to join the military. They say they tell them there are other options. They don't believe the military is practicing truth in advertising with their video games and rock-climbing walls.

With the country committed in Iraq and Afghanistan, some people say it's difficult to see how the military will get the recruits it needs without re-instituting a draft. Yes, the "D-word." The Pentagon says there will be no draft. Still, it's a word you can hear being used around Washington, not in outspoken ways, but certainly among the whispers.


related:

The Children Can't Wait
Breaking it Down: Leave No Child Behind
http://abcnews.go.com/US/BreakingItDown/story?id=532777&page=1
____________________________________________________________

The recruiting provisions in the No Child Left behind Act.

Congress passed two major pieces of legislation that generally require local educational agencies (LEAs) receiving assistance under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA)1 to give military recruiters the same access to secondary school students as they provide to postsecondary institutions or to prospective employers. LEAs are also generally required to provide students' names, addresses, and telephone listings to military recruiters, when requested.

These requirements are contained in § 9528 of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. § 7908), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (P.L. No. 107-110)

These requirements are also contained in 10 U.S.C. § 503, as amended by § 544 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 (P.L. No. 107-107), the legislation that provides funding for the nation's armed forces.

Section 9528 also requires LEAs that receive funds under the ESEA to provide military recruiters the same access to secondary school students as they generally provide to postsecondary institutions or prospective employers. For example, if the school has a policy of allowing postsecondary institutions or prospective employers to come on school property to provide information to students about educational or professional opportunities, it must afford the same access to military recruiters.

Helpfully, under FERPA, an LEA must provide notice to parents of the types of student information that it releases publicly. This type of student information, commonly referred to as "directory information," includes such items as names, addresses, and telephone numbers and is information generally not considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. The notice must include an explanation of a parent's right to request that the information not be disclosed without prior written consent.

Additionally, § 9528 requires that parents be notified that the school routinely discloses names, addresses, and telephone numbers to military recruiters upon request, subject to a parent's request not to disclose such information without written consent. A single notice provided through a mailing, student handbook, or other method that is reasonably calculated to inform parents of the above information is sufficient to satisfy the parental notification requirements of both FERPA and § 9528.

The notification must advise the parent of how to opt out of the public, nonconsensual disclosure of directory information and the method and timeline within which to do so. an LEA may provide a single notice regarding both directory information and information disclosed to military recruiters.

If an LEA does not disclose "directory information" under FERPA, then it must still provide military recruiters access to secondary students' names, addresses, and telephone listings. In addition, the LEA must notify parents that they may opt out of this disclosure. In other words, an LEA that does not disclose "directory information" must nonetheless provide a notice that it discloses information to military recruiters. The notice must be reasonably calculated to inform parents

If a parent opts out of providing directory information to third parties, the opt-out relating to name, address, or telephone number applies to requests from military recruiters as well. For example, if the opt-out states that telephone numbers will not be disclosed to the public, schools may not disclose telephone numbers to military recruiters.

Schools that do not comply with § 9528 of the ESEA could jeopardize their receipt of ESEA funds.


Q.How does § 544 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 amend the former requirements under 10 U.S.C. § 503?

A.Section 544 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 revises Title 10, Section 503(c) in several important ways:

First, the recruiting provisions now apply only to LEAs (including private secondary schools) that receive funds under the ESEA.

Second, these provisions now require access by military recruiters to students, under certain conditions, and to secondary school students' names, addresses, and telephone listings. Third, as discussed earlier, they require LEAs to notify parents of their right to opt out of the disclosure of their children's names, addresses, and telephone numbers and to comply with any such requests from the parents or the students.

Q.How are these requirements under 10 U.S.C. § 503 enforced?

A.In addition to the potential for loss of funds under ESEA noted above for failure to comply with § 9528 of the ESEA, an LEA that denies a military recruiter access to the requested information on students after July 1, 2002, will be subject to specific interventions under 10 U.S.C. § 503.

In this regard, the law requires that a senior military officer (e.g., Colonel or Navy Captain) visit the LEA within 120 days. If the access problem is not resolved with the LEA, the Department of Defense must notify the State Governor within 60 days. Problems still unresolved after one year are reported to Congress if the Secretary of Defense determines that the LEA denies recruiting access to at least two of the armed forces (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, etc.).

The expectation is that public officials will work with the LEA to resolve the problem.

Additionally, the Department of Defense has developed a national high school data base to document recruiter access. Presently, 95 percent of the nation's 22,000 secondary schools provide a degree of access to military recruiters that is consistent with current law.

Q.Are private schools subject to the military recruiter requirements?

A.Private secondary schools that receive funds under the ESEA are subject to § to 10 U.S.C. § 503. However, private schools that maintain a religious objection to service in the Armed Forces that is verifiable through the corporate or other organizational documents or materials of that school are not required to comply with this law.

Q.How does § 544 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 amend the former requirements under 10 U.S.C. § 503?

A.Section 544 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 revises Title 10, Section 503(c) in several important ways:

First, the recruiting provisions now apply only to LEAs (including private secondary schools) that receive funds under the ESEA.

Second, these provisions now require access by military recruiters to students, under certain conditions, and to secondary school students' names, addresses, and telephone listings. Third, as discussed earlier, they require LEAs to notify parents of their right to opt out of the disclosure of their children's names, addresses, and telephone numbers and to comply with any such requests from the parents or the students.

Q. How are these requirements under 10 U.S.C. § 503 enforced?

A.In addition to the potential for loss of funds under ESEA noted above for failure to comply with § 9528 of the ESEA, an LEA that denies a military recruiter access to the requested information on students after July 1, 2002, will be subject to specific interventions under 10 U.S.C. § 503.

In this regard, the law requires that a senior military officer (e.g., Colonel or Navy Captain) visit the LEA within 120 days. If the access problem is not resolved with the LEA, the Department of Defense must notify the State Governor within 60 days. Problems still unresolved after one year are reported to Congress if the Secretary of Defense determines that the LEA denies recruiting access to at least two of the armed forces (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, etc.).

The expectation is that public officials will work with the LEA to resolve the problem.

Additionally, the Department of Defense has developed a national high school data base to document recruiter access. Presently, 95 percent of the nation's 22,000 secondary schools provide a degree of access to military recruiters that is consistent with current law.

Q.Are private schools subject to the military recruiter requirements?

A.Private secondary schools that receive funds under the ESEA are subject to § to 10 U.S.C. § 503. However, private schools that maintain a religious objection to service in the Armed Forces that is verifiable through the corporate or other organizational documents or materials of that school are not required to comply with this law.
____________________________________________________________

Links to legislation:

Policy Guidance - Access to High School Students and Information on Students by Military ...
Congress has passed two major pieces of legislation that generally require local educational agencies (LEAs) .. (Oct 09, 2002)
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/hottopics/ht-10-09-02a.html


Guidance on Access for and Disclosures to Military Recruiters. Access to High School Students and Informatin on Students by Military ... (Oct 09, 2002)http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/hottopics/ht10-09-02c.html


Guidance on Access for and Disclosures to Military Recruiters (Apr 26, 2004)
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/hottopics/ht10-09-02.html


Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
Access to High School Students and Information on Students by Military Recruiters (Oct 10, 2002)
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/pdf/ht100902b.pdf


Guidance on Access for and Disclosures to Military Recruiters. FERPA Model Notice for Directory Information. (Oct 09, 2002)
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/doc/ht100902c.doc


Family Policy Compliance Office Hot Topics (May 20, 2004)
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/hottopics/index.html


Guidance on Access for and Disclosures to Military Recruiters UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20202 Our mission is to ensure .. (Sep 15, 2004)
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/doc/ht070203.doc


Joint Letter re: Military Recruiters (MSWord)
Joint Letter re: Military Recruiters (MSWord) July 2, 2003 Dear Chief State School Officer: It has come to our attention that some of your State’s local .. (Apr 02, 2004)
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/doc/ht070203.doc


Joint Letter re: Military Recruiters (PDF)
Joint Letter re: Military Recruiters (PDF) July 2, 2003 Dear Chief State School Officer: It has come to our attention that some of your State’s local .. (Jul 15, 2003)
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/pdf/ht070203.pdf


Key Policy Letters Signed by the Education Secretary or Deputy Secretary
July 2, 2003 - Enclosures for letter to Chief State School Officers regarding release of student information to military recruiters (Jul 02, 2003)
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/secletter/030702enc.html


What You Can Do
(http://comdsd.org/publications.htm#do )

High School Student Rights
(http://comdsd.org/pdf/hs_1.pdf )
Teach Peace Make Our Schools Military-Free Zones
(http://comdsd.org/pdf/teach.pdf )

Project on Youth and Non-Military Opportunities
P.O. Box 230157, Encinitas, CA 92023
[phone]; http://www.projectyano.org

Students Transforming And Resisting Corporations
(http://www.starcalliance.org /)
Students of Liberation
Waging a Non-violent Struggle for Peace,
Justice & Democracy
email: peace@starcalliance
call: 414-915-4289

Project on Youth and Non-Military Opportunities (Project YANO)
P.O. Box 230157, Encinitas, CA 92023 - [phone]; [e-mail]

~Project YANO Sample Outreach Educational Tools
http://www.returningsoldiers.us/Yano.htm

Students Not Soldiers is a youth & student campaign against military recruitment in our schools.
Contact:-Trent Moyer at AFSC:
202-299-1050 or [e-mail]
-John Judge at the Washington Peace Center
202-234-2000
_______________________________________

STUDENT REQUEST TO REFUSE RELEASE OF CONTACT INFORMATION TO MILITARY RECRUTERS
To: Your School Superintendent

I am writing to request that you do not make my name, address, or telephone listing available for military recruitment purposes, as is provided under Paragraph 2, Subsection (a) of Section 9528 of Public Law 107-110*. I look foward to your prompt response to this letter.
Sincerely,____________________

Name:_______________________School___________

Address:_______________________________________

City/State/Zip:__________________________________
*Public Law 107-110,
The No Child Left Behind Act,
Provides that either students or parents may request that information not be released to military recruiters without written parental consent and that schools must notify parents of the option to make such a request and must comply with any request.

[Journeyman]

1. Does anyone remember: Did Smirk reject the idea of a draft? . . .

Or was it one of those sleight of hand denials BushCo is so famous for, where the answer could be either way, depending on what the the recipient wanted to hear?

[AngelAsuka]

4. He said something to the effect of

"I don't think we need a draft, and if something changes, I'll talk to Congress about it."

Thats NOT a direct quote...as I remember, it was sneakier than that. It was in the debates with President Kerry.

~~AA~~

[soup]

6. Rumors on the internets and hard work

October 8, 2004

The Second Bush-Kerry Presidential Debate

BUSH: I hear there's rumors on the Internets (sic) that we're going to have a draft. We're not going to have a draft, period. The all- volunteer army works. It works particularly when we pay our troops well. It works when we make sure they've got housing, like we have done in the last military budgets.

An all-volunteer army is best suited to fight the new wars of the 21st century, which is to be specialized and to find these people as they hide around the world.

We don't need mass armies anymore. One of the things we've done is we've taken the -- we're beginning to transform our military.

And by that I mean we're moving troops out of Korea and replacing them with more effective weapons. We don't need as much manpower on the Korean Peninsula to keep a deterrent.

In Europe, we have massed troops as if the Soviet Union existed and was going to invade into Europe, but those days are over with. And so we're moving troops out of Europe and replacing it with more effective equipment.

So to answer your question is, we're withdrawing, not from the world, we're withdrawing manpower so they can be stationed here in America, so there's less rotation, so life is easier on their families and therefore more likely to be -- we'll be more likely to be able to keep people in the all-volunteer army.

One of the more important things we're doing in this administration is transformation. There are some really interesting technologies.

For instance, we're flying unmanned vehicles that can send real- time messages back to stations in the United States. That saves manpower, and it saves equipment.

It also means that we can target things easier and move more quickly, which means we need to be lighter and quicker and more facile and highly trained.

Now, forget all this talk about a draft. We're not going to have a draft so long as I am the president.
http://www.debates.org/pages/trans2004c.html

---

October 13, 2004

The Third Bush-Kerry Presidential Debate

BUSH: The best way to take the pressure off our troops is to succeed in Iraq, is to train Iraqis so they can do the hard work of democracy, is to give them a chance to defend their country, which is precisely what we're doing. We'll have 125,000 troops trained by the end of this year.

I remember going on an airplane in Bangor, Maine, to say thanks to the reservists and Guard that were headed overseas from Tennessee and North Carolina, Georgia. Some of them had been there before.

The people I talked to their spirits were high. They didn't view their service as a back-door draft. They viewed their service as an opportunity to serve their country.

My opponent, the senator, talks about foreign policy.

In our first debate he proposed America pass a global test. In order to defend ourselves, we'd have to get international approval. That's one of the major differences we have about defending our country.

I'll work with allies. I'll work with friends. We'll continue to build strong coalitions. But I will never turn over our national- security decisions to leaders of other countries.

We'll be resolute, we'll be strong, and we'll wage a comprehensive war against the terrorists.
http://www.debates.org/pages/trans2004d.html

---

and then, there's this silver-tongued 'gem' -

"After standing on the stage, after the debates, I made it very plain, we will not have an all-volunteer army. And yet, this week — we will have an all-volunteer army!" —George W. Bush, Daytona Beach, Fla., Oct. 16, 2004
http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbestcampaignhumor.htm

Who in the hell would vote for this idiot???

[cornermouse]

2. It is highly ironic that in a time when the Supreme Court

has recognized that children under the age of majority do not fully understand the consequences of taking a life, our military is allowed full access and given the right to attempt to recruit our high school children in their classrooms. They were pretty relentless in the pre-Bush administrations, I suspect they're impossible now.

[Scooter24]

3. The problem is...

that nobody can join until they are 18. The military presents itself as "an employer" looking for prospects and that they should be allowed to showcase their offer to the students so that when they turn 18 they can make a choice.

It's a big sales game where the student is nothing more than a statistic waiting to be manipulated.

[soup]

5. Thank you for putting all of this together.

Bookmarked and recommended.

My 17 year old son has been opted out of the information release. The recruiters are in the classroom at his high school, and a couple of the kids have signed on for the delayed entry program.

He'll be 18 next month and so far all we've received is a couple of glossies in the mail - one offering a choice of a FREE watchcap or sunglasses - such a deal, but no thanks.

Again, I appreciate the time you spent compiling and sharing this.

[Hekate]

7. YES! Go, counter-recruiters!

:bounce:
I'm thrilled that after a mere two years ABC News has finally noticed these efforts. Thank, Bigtree, for putting so much information into your post -- I'll be sending it on to friends in the peace community to use as a resource.

(Sadly, the ABC website has once again refused to let me read their article because according to them my browser is too old. They want me to download one from the Internet and I am reluctant to do so. Maybe one of the people I send your post to will get the text for me.)

Hekate

[Joz]

8. At my college, laughable pitch.

I have noticed an increase in recruiters at my (community) college. I got stopped by one that asked me if I wanted to join up and I said that I did not, to which he of course asked why and I replied that I'd be sent to Iraq and that I don't want to die. His response was, get ready for this one, that I'm going to die anyway some day, and that if it's fated for me to die in Iraq then so be it.

I replied with some similar philosophical conversation about the possibility of death coming at any moment but not seeking it. Then he had another good quote which was something like "Look at it this way, you are cursed when you are born, that you will die." to which I replied "I wouldn't say giving birth to life is a curse."

Pretty pathetic recruiting. I also turned another student off from him that he had already been talking to when he waved me down.

[Meeker Morgan]

9. I'm going to die anyway some day...

Very ghoulish.

Being a big city firefighter is more hazardous than the Army in that most soldiers are not on the front lines.

But I'm sure a Fire Dept recruiter, if there is such a thing, would never use that approach. Something about saving lives, instead.

[PromptCritical]

11. those recruiters.

I would agree. Pretty pathetic.

When I was in high school, I talked to the Army, the Marines and the Navy. The Army recruiter seemed to be pretty cool, until I took the ASVAB. When he saw my score, he turned into a used car salesman. "How can I get you to sign up TODAY?" That ended that. The Marines just didn't seem to have what I wanted. I ended up serving in the Navy for six years. I don't regret it. Good job experience, $55,000 for college, low probability of being killed. For that, the Navy stuck me in a tube, underwater, with a light dose of radiation.

Further, I refuse to believe that anyone believes they can join the Army without any chance of dying. Soldiers are killed in training accidents all the time, not to mention combat. The military will never be "just a job." Then again, it's not usually an adventure either.

[newyawker99]

15. Hi PromptCritical!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[mhr]

10. I Showed A Young Man In My Community The War Injuries

Reported in the New England Journal Of Medicine Last December.

I asked him a simple question:

Are you willing to become disfigured, or worse Die, like these kids your age for one George W. Bush?

After he almost lost his cookies looking at the disfigurement, he came to the conclusion that Bush's war was not worth the risk that he would come home tattered from a roadside bomb or dead.

WARNING GRAPHIC PHOTO LINKS - PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/351/24/2476

[Kindigger]

12. A show the other night stated that just ten years ago...

..in the Gulf War, most of the maimed for life would have died from their wounds. If I were a young man, the recruiters would have to guarantee that I WOULD DIE if I were wounded like that.

Why can't they sign one of those "pull my plug, no extraordinary intervention" papers? :think:

[HockeyMom]

13. My daughter

turned 18 in her Senior Year of High School, so we couldn't sign the do not call list. If they are 18 and over, the high school MUST give the military their names, addresses and phone numbers under the Leave No Child Behind Law. They called her and called and called. Would not take NO for an answer. It was pathetic almost. Scared the hell out of my daughter. She said she felt as if he was stalking her. The only way he stopped calling was for her to get EXTREMELY nasty with him on the phone.

This was 3 years ago. I can imagine what it is like now.

Yes, they go on campus, but they can avoid them there. It's worse when they invade your home.

[cornermouse]

14. I just hung up on them.

Since I was the only one in the house that was ever interested in answering the phone, the interruption was annoying but comparatively easy to short circuit on the spot.

[lonestarnot]

16. Who really wants to die under a bush? n/t

[bigtree]

17. *