Military Recruitment
MILITARY IN THE SCHOOLS
MILITARY RECRUITMENT (THE FINE PRINT)
State of The Union
According to the New York Times, nearly one in five U.S. Army recruiters
was under investigation in 2004 for offenses varying from "threats and
coercion to false promises that applicants would not be sent to Iraq."1
One veteran recruiter told a reporter for the Albany Times Union, "I've been recruiting for years and I don't know one recruiter who wasn't dishonest about it. I did it myself."
So, to our neighbors, dear New Yorkers: Read well. Be safe. Pass it on.
MILITARY RECRUITMENT: READ THE FINE PRINT
"Your son mentions enlistment and a million things rush through your head. We're hoping one or two of those things are facts."
"Talking with your daughter about the Military has you anxious and emotional. It's times like this, facts are reassuring."
— from a U.S. Department of Defense website, TodaysMilitary.com
THE MILITARY CONTRACT: THE FINE PRINT
The Department of Defense's own Enlistment/ Re-enlistment Document
states: Laws and regulations that govern military personnel may change without
notice to me. Such changes may affect my status, pay, allowances, benefits, and
responsibilities as a member of the Armed Forces REGARDLESS of the provisions
of this enlistment/re-enlistment document (DD Form 4/1, 1998, Sec. 9.5b).
This means that an enlistee is guaranteed nothing.
SIGNING BONUSES
Bonuses are often thought of as gifts, but they're not, they're like loans: If an
enlistee leaves the military before their agreed term of service, they will be forced to repay the bonus. Besides, Army data shows that the top bonus of $20,000 was given to only 6% of 47,727 enlistees who signed up for active duty.2
FINANCIAL SECURITY
Military members are no strangers to financial strain: 48% report having financial difficulty,3 approximately 33% of homeless men in the United States are veterans and nearly 200,000 veterans are homeless on any given night.4
MONEY FOR COLLEGE ($71,424 IN THE BANK?)
Among recruits who sign up for the Montgomery GI Bill, 65% receive no money for college, and only 15% ever receive a college degree.5 The maximum Montgomery GI Bill benefit is $37,224, and even this 37k is hard to get: To join, a recruit must first put in a nonrefundable $1,200 deposit that has to be paid to the military during the first year of service. To receive the 37k, you must also be an active-duty member who has completed at least a three-year service agreement and is attending a four-year college full-time. Benefits are significantly lower if you are going to school part-time or attending a two-year college.6 If you receive a less-than-honorable discharge (as one in four do), leave the military early (as one in three do) or later decide not to go to college, the military will keep your deposit and give you nothing. Note: The $71,424 advertised by the Army and $86,000 by the Navy include benefits from the Army or Navy College Fund (ACF/NCF), respectively. Fewer than 10% of all recruits earn money from the ACF, which is specifically designed to lure recruits into hard to fill positions.7
JOB TRAINING
"The military is not a social welfare agency; it's not a jobs program."
: : Vice President Dick Cheney
The military does not have to place an enlistee in his/her chosen career field or give him/her the specific training requested (the contract makes no guarantees, see p. 5). Even if enlistees do receive training, it is often to develop skills that will not transfer to the civilian job market. (There aren't many jobs for M240- machine-gunners stateside.)
WAR, COMBAT & YOUR CONTRACT
The military can, without your consent, extend active-duty obligations during times of conflict, "national emergency," or when directed by the President.8 This means that even if an enlistee has two weeks left on his/ her contract (yes, even Guard/Reserve) or has already served in combat she/he can still be sent to war.9 More than a dozen U.S. soldiers have challenged "stop-loss" measures like these in court so far, but people continue to be shipped off involuntarily.10
The numbers: Twice as many troops are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan per year as during the Vietnam War. One-third of the troops that have gone to Iraq have gone more than once. The highest rate of first-time deployments belongs to the Marine Corps Reserve: Almost 90% have fought.11
TODAY'S MILITARY
A soldier in today's military may be killed or seriously injured because of inadequate armor. In Iraq, troops who routinely travel by Humvee have had to "armor-up" these vehicles themselves by using issued materials (2 sheets of plywood, sandbags and straps to hold the bags in place) to protect against gunfire, RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) and IEDs (improvised explosive devices). In fact, a recent Pentagon study showed that 80% of all fatal Marine deaths caused from upper body wounds could have been avoided with armor that's been available since 2003.11 If you protest your mission, the inadequacy of planning and equipment, or don't follow the many severe rules of the military 24/7 (even if off-duty or off-base), it can result in court-martial, prison or dishonorable discharge.
IF YOU GET HURT (HEALTH & DISABILITY BENEFITS)
In 2000, over 72% of veterans who applied for benefits said their claims were judged unfairly.12 How big is the problem? So far, nearly 50,000 veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are receiving medical treatment from the Department of Veterans Affairs.13 More than 25% of U.S. troops (one in four) who have returned from Iraq require medical or mental health treatment.14 Unfortunately, the VA budget for 2005 assumed only 25,553 "veterans of the Global War on Terrorism," but the estimated number as of November 2005 was 103,000, more than four times the amount budgeted.15
VIOLENCE & BIGOTRY
Even during peacetime, the military can be dangerous: Active-duty personnel experience racially offensive behavior, threatening incidents and career-related racial discrimination.16 One third of enlisted women report being raped, or victims of attempted rape during their time in the military; 75% (three in four) report sexual harassment.17 Violence against suspected non-heterosexuals increased after "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (1993), with forced discharges peaking in 2001, but tellingly, well into the war, discharges decreased 38%.18
MILITARY IN THE SCHOOLS
First to contact, first to contract," is a U.S. Army Recruiting Command motto, and a vital way recruiters make this first contact is by approaching students in high school. Their campaign is aided by programs like the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps and sections in laws recently passed by Congress. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), 2001, and the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 (NDAA) give the military access to student data (unless an "opt-out" form is filed) and allow recruiters, virtually unhindered, into high schools to market military enlistment.
Opt-out forms for high school students (this will open a new browser window)
WHAT STUDENT INFORMATION CAN MILITARY RECRUITERS GET FROM SCHOOLS?
Military recruiters can ask for names, addresses and telephone numbers and the school must comply. Though military recruiters are currently only requesting information for students in the 11th and 12th grades, both NCLB and NDAA refer to "secondary school students" so it is advisable that opt-out forms are submitted as soon as possible. There is no requirement for schools to release information about former students, but there is also no restriction on how long the military can keep any information it has gathered.
HOW CAN A STUDENT OR PARENT STOP A SCHOOL FROM HANDING OVER THE STUDENT'S INFORMATION TO THE MILITARY?
NCLB and NDAA include a provision that allows students/parents the right to deny this disclosure. This request must be submitted in writing. A parent's signature is the safest way to make sure information is not disclosed. However, the NYC Department of Education (DOE) has clearly stated that students have the right to opt themselves out. You can find an opt-out form on p. 30, ask for one at the school office, or search www.nycenet.edu for "opt out." NYC principals were instructed by the DOE to distribute opt-out forms to EVERY student in Sept. 2005. If opt-out forms were not distributed in your school, inform the New York Civil Liberties Union (212.344.3005) and complain to your principal.
CAN SCHOOLS RELEASE STUDENT INFORMATION BEFORE OFFERING STUDENTS AND PARENTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO OBJECT?
No. NCLB and NDAA state that before a school gives a recruiter a list of student information, students and parents must be given an opportunity to get off that list. The school cannot release student directory information with their objection on file.
Can a student have his or her information withheld from military recruiters without also having it withheld from colleges and potential employers?
Yes. Schools should allow students to opt out of supplying information to the military without opting out of supplying the same information to colleges or job recruiters.
MUST SCHOOLS PROVIDE STUDENT DIRECTORY INFORMATION TO MILITARY RECRUITERS WITHIN A CERTAIN TIME FRAME?
No. Recruiters may give a deadline but there's no legal basis (in NCLB or NDAA) requiring the school to comply with such a demand. Schools must provide students and parents with notice of their right to opt out and with enough time to exercise that right.
DO SCHOOLS HAVE TO ALLOW MILITARY RECRUITERS ON CAMPUS?
Yes, but only if the school already allows colleges and prospective employers on campus. NCLB requires that military recruiters be given "equal access" to that given to college and employment recruiters. Equal access is not FREE access. Recruiters must make appointments in advance, just as any other outside group does. Schools can prohibit recruiters from removing students from class, from being given class time to talk to students, roaming the halls, or hanging out in the cafeteria if college or job recruiters are not allowed to. Note: Several law schools recently argued that they should be able to exclude the military from recruiting on campus, as they would other employers who engage in discrimination based on sexual orientation. But the Supreme Court decided, in March 2006, that anti-discrimination policies cannot bar military recruiters from college campuses that accept federal funding.
WHAT ARE OTHER WAYS THAT RECRUITERS CAN GET STUDENT INFORMATION?
The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB): About 14,000 schools nationwide give the ASVAB, billed as a "career placement" test, even though it is not required. The military grades the test and gathers student information, which they later use for recruiting and enlistmentpurposes. Students are NOT required to take the ASVAB. If you do take the test, you can select "Option 8. No release to recruiters," to help safeguard your information.
The Joint Advertising Market Research & Studies (JAMRS) Recruitment Database:
The Department of Defense recently admitted to creating a massive database in 2003 of information on 16-to-25-year-olds including, but not limited to, birth dates, Social Security numbers, ethnicity, religious affiliation, and grade-point averages. The Privacy Act requires that new systems of records be published in the Federal Register before they become operational, but the database was not listed until May 2005. The database currently contains approximately 30 million entries. Over 100 civil liberties, religious, anti-war and parent groups have called for the program's end. Stay tuned.
Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC): JROTC is sold to school districts as an educational and leadership training program, and claims that it keeps at-risk students from dropping out, though there's no proof it does. In reality, JROTC is a recruitment program based on early contact and it's embedded in high schools across the country. In February 2000, then-Secretary of Defense William Cohen called JROTC "one of the best recruiting devices that we could have." He wasn't lying: Over 50% of JROTC cadets are recruited into the lowest military ranks. Moreover, nationwide the program enrolls a disproportionate number of minorities and students from low-income families, with 54% of the "cadets" being youth of color.
This information is excerpted and adapted from NYCLU's FAQ on Military Recruitment & Student Rights. For the original document, visit http://milrec.nyclu.org/1a.html