Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft (COMD)

: Jorge Mariscal; Articles Archive; 01 July 2005; Hits: 3705

Military Enlistment, or When a Contract Isn't Really a Contract

From Draft NOtices, July-August 2005

—Jorge Mariscal

It is an axiom among activists working in the area of counter-recruitment that the enlistment contract isn't worth the paper it's printed on. What this means in practical terms is that whatever a recruiter promises to deliver to a new recruit — specific jobs or assignment, length of service, benefits, or even citizenship — can be withdrawn or changed at any time.

Section C, Paragraph 9 of the enlistment contract 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/reenlistment document."

Proposal Would Restore Privacy Rights Surrendered to the Military

From Draft NOtices, May-June 2005

—Rick Jahnkow

Representative Michael Honda, a Democratic member of Congress from San Jose, California, has introduced legislation that would require written permission from a parent before any secondary school that receives federal funds could release a student's name, address and phone number to military representatives.

The proposal, H.R. 551, was introduced on February 2, 2005, under the name Student Privacy Protection Act of 2005 and has been referred to the House Subcommittee on Education Reform. In addition to the sponsor (Honda), there were 31 co-sponsors as of May 5.

The bill would reverse a change in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 implemented as a result of the legislation commonly known as the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. The NCLB Act says that in order to receive federal education funds, secondary schools must provide student information to recruiters unless students or their parents had opted out. The law also states that secondary schools must "provide military recruiters the same access to secondary school students as is provided generally to post secondary educational institutions or to prospective employers of those students." The latter section was aimed at school districts in Portland, Oregon, San Francisco and a few other communities where recruiters were banned during the 1990s.

Military Lies

From Draft NOtices, May-June 2005

— Rayanne

Editor's note: The following information was originally posted at the Tampa Indymedia Web site. When we contacted the writer for permission to reprint it, she asked us to use only her first name to protect her daughter. One reason we chose to publish this is that it illustrates the point that the military can -- and sometimes does -- go back on the promise of a specific job, even when it is written in the enlistment agreement.

I give everyone the benefit of doubt. I'm probably one of those "pushovers" that used-car salesmen like. As a matter of fact, I've been taken in by my fair share of them. I usually chalk it up to "live and learn" and vow not to let it happen again. We expect certain types of behavior from used-car salesmen. We know in advance that they will say anything to make a sale. My apologies to the sincere and honest used-car salespeople out there in the world. I know you are the exception, not the rule.

As I said, we expect certain types of behavior from certain people in the world. However, we like to think our government will act honorably in the things it does. When the recruiters contact our children, we want to believe everything they tell our kids is true. The kids listen and believe. It's the United States Government! Why would they lie or make things up? Maybe not EVERYTHING is true, but the important parts are, right?