Groups unite against military recruiting.

news.yahoo.com...

PHILADELPHIA - Nancy Carroll didn't know schools were giving military recruiters her family's contact information until a recruiter called her 17-year-old granddaughter.

That didn't sit well with Carroll, who believes recruiters unfairly target minority students. So she joined activists across the country who are urging families to notify schools that they don't want their children's contact information given out.

"People of color who go into the military are put on the front line," said the 67-year-old Carroll, who is black.

A provision of President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act requires school districts to provide military recruiters with student phone numbers and addresses or risk losing millions in federal education funding. Parents or students 18 and over can "opt out" by submitting a written request to keep the information private.

But critics say schools do not always convey that message. In New Mexico, the American Civil Liberties Union chapter sued the Albuquerque Public School District last month, charging it does not adequately inform parents of the opt-out provision.

that woman Carroll thinks only color people go into the front lines maybe she needs to talk to white families who lost their love ones. in anicase the recruiters should be allowed to recruit from public schools, the kids can refuse or not to listen to them.

move this thread to military shoulda put it over there.

[edit on 17-6-2005 by deltaboy]

So...if this is only directed towards minorities, how did the recruiter get my number when I was in high school?

"People of color who go into the military are put on the front line," said the 67-year-old Carroll, who is black.

Yep. So are people of lighter color. People of color are also put in the back lines and supporting roles, too, as are those of a lighter color. Maybe the white folks dying on the front lines next to the african americans don't count as much to her, though.

Seems like the current goal is to remove all American military. None of us want a draft, of course (with the exception of a few Democrats who proposed bills to resurrect it) but now our military shouldn't be able to recruit, either? Maybe the next step will be to create a single office in one city for all recruitment. After all, those "Armed Services" shops around really pressure minority youths to join up.

You're both in your late teens - early twenties?
I was in the service, it will do you good! You're also hitting a point in time where you strongly believe the leadership of the country, so it will be stellar for you!

My nephew had the Army speak to him at school......for his Freshman Orientation!! They were invited to speak to the assembled 13 & 14 year olds about JrROTC &potential military careers.......at 13 years old!!

A parent can, rightfully so, take issue with that. As well as the fact of being on a call list.

I tried to get in about 4 years ago, but was refused for medical reasons.

As to talking with the young teens, so what? They're too young to join the front line troops and can't even get into JrROTC without their parent's permission. You have all kinds of professions talking to high school students from their freshman year through to their senior. This is done to allow students to have knowlege of all the options out there so, when they graduate, they know where they'd like to major in college or what they want to do when they get out of high school. Being a soldier can be a profession. Why should that profession be censored from informing students? Why restrict the knowlege given to the students as to their options in the future? If you're worried about propaganda, every one of the people talking about their profession uses propaganda. If I knew what corporate life was really like, I may have reconsidered where I developed my skill set.

.....being an accountant for Ernst & Young won't get you shot or blown up....I could be wrong!
The services actively recruiting young teens IS COMPLETELY different from an erstwhile career day here & there. No corporations recruit 13 yr old kids. None sow the seeds of what it would be like working for them at 13. None have a budget for it.
The military branches have all the above.
Leave the kids alone, that's plain & simple & irrefutable. Remember, I'm an advocate (b.b. = Before Bush ) of mandatory military service like most of our allies have.

Originally posted by Bout Time
No corporations recruit 13 yr old kids. None sow the seeds of what it would be like working for them at 13. None have a budget for it.
The military branches have all the above.

While the individual corporations may not recruit, they do send representatives. In 6th grade we had a career day. That's when I was 12 years old. Companies like Abbot (some huge offices and labs in the Chicago area), Motorola (same), Baxter, some aircraft manufacturer (don't remember the company, this was pre-Boeing, but I hung out with that guy for a while), banks, car dealerships, etc. And yes, the military was there, too.

There were lawyers there, too, and if you've been watching the news lately, they're getting popped almost as often as we hear about soldiers dying in Iraq. Cops, too. Firefighters were there, and their job is to do exactly what everyone else does. When a building is burning down, they run in, not out, and many of them die. Yet, without them, many more would die. Should they not be allowed to talk about their job to students because of the risks involved?

Since my daughter graduated from high school almost 4 years ago I still get phone calls from recruiters, and she said that she never gave her number away.

I also have to get the calls asking for my son, now those are annoying, he is 18 and I get about 2 calls per week.

I was drafted and became a Draft Dodger; but not in the way your thinking. I did not want to go into the service for two years of my life and learn how to dodge bullets. So, instead of dodging bullets, I dodged the draft by enlisting for four years in the USAF.

I had a choice of enlisting for three in the Army as a Helicopter pilot. Join the Navy for six and have a guaranteed career field choice. Both of these were fairly good choices; but I preferred the Air Force for many personal reasons. Any of the branch choices would have been fine.

In the USAF, I was trained into a fantastic career field. After I left the service, I never left the training provided by the Air Force. Never, Never did I see any partiality due to race, color or creed. The men I know would not tolerate it. We boycotted Biloxi, MS one week for their racial treatment. It was estimated that the 33,000 Keesler AFB personnel spent about $1M a month in the city of Biloxi. The mayor was on the phone to the commander of the base the next day.

Years later, my oldest daughter was accepted into a program as a Medical Doctor. She was given special permission by the military to accept and attend a residency in Radiology. She resigned her commission as a Major Doctor of Radiology after fulfilling her obligation. She is now a Chief Radiologist under contract with a regional hospital making big bucks.

War is hell and always will be. I have asked her if she ever saw partiality due to race or skin color. Her answer, "Absolutely not. Everyone is treated the same, very tough." My oldest daughter and I have done nicely in our individual careers thanks to one particular branch of the service. Expect the same treatment from either branch chosen, the only thing that will hold you back is your attitude.

I'm all for recruiting and awareness as an alternative to a business career. Most children (young adults) do not know what they want to do when they grow up. The military will help. From everything I experienced, they really care about your intended career and doing a good fit for your interest in life. They have never enjoyed nor intentionally sent any GI to his death much less because of the color of their skin. That is an absurd statement.

So, the next time the recruiter calls be glad it isn't a letter saying greetings this is your President and you have just been drafted into this man's army. I received that letter and it wasn't fun. I would have enjoyed hearing from a recruiter instead of having to hustle with alternative choices on a time restraint.

Originally posted by deltaboy
Parents or students 18 and over can "opt out" by submitting a written request to keep the information private

I think that says it all right there. The military will not contact you if you contact them and tell them to not call them. There is no need for groups to unite against the 'evil and wicked' military.

Has a new World war 3 broken out that Ive missed? Why is your Government recruiting people on this scale?This sort of thing would not be tolerated here in the UK, whats happening to Americans that justifies this?

A major part of the military recruitment missing its goals the past 4 months is that we're trying to increase the number of active troops we have. As we're fighting 2 wars right now, it doesn't look like we're going to be moving our troops out of there any time soon, and there are many other potential threats out there.

The military isn't drafting anybody, and a draft is not on the way. The recruiters are...tenacious, though. Think about the people they're going after, though. Their target market is...Well, I hope no one takes offense to this term, and I'm going to qualify it in a second, but their target market is losers.

They're going after the people with no direction, no drive, no will to move their lives forward. These are the people who are most helped by the military, and those most likely to join up. I know, my cousin was one of them, and now he is one of the most honorable, diciplined people I've ever met.

Part of a typical recruitment involves expunging your criminal record. That's the norm. That should say a lot for who the target market is. They're going after people whose only options are jail or the army. For many, they haven't gotten the criminal record, but they're on course to do so. The military goes after these people like nobody's business. They target them, and don't let them just brush aside potential responsability the way they've brushed past every other responsability they've faced. At any time the parents can put a stop to the recruiters calling, but many probably don't want to, despite what they're saying for their kid's ear's sake, because the military forces dicipline on the recruits the parents were unable or incapable of giving.

Presonally, I think the military is a wonderful thing for our troubled teens, and even those who are not. I wish I had been able to get in, I can't imagine where I would be today if they'd accepted me (I mean after I was finished putting bullets into the heads of anyone who tried to kill my fellow Americans or any civilians).