TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Recruitment and Counter-Recruiting – The No Child Left Behind Act makes our kids the targets of very sophisticated enlistment marketing. Military recruiters spend $4 billion/year, have unprecedented access to students, and few parents or kids know what to do about it. A counter-recruiting movement is telling the other side of the story, and how we can keep our kids off recruiting lists.
  
  
• The Draft – – There are mixed opinions about the need for a draft, and the likelihood that it will return. A new draft, if revived, would probably include men and women, plus people with certain skills up to age 35. It would have fewer exemptions, and Canada would not be an option. In the meantime, all 18 year-old men are required to register for the draft. Should you register? If you want college financial aid, or certain jobs, you have no choice. Registering is not enlisting. What will happen if there is a draft?
  
  
• Conscientious Objectors – – All young adults will have to decide whether they can conscientiously kill or participate in war. If not, they need to be able to prove it. Now is the time to begin a CO file; if a draft is reinstated, you can decide then whether or not to use it. You can be a CO even if you have already registered for the draft; even if you are in the military. COs still have the responsibility of alternative service.
  
  

The No Child Left Behind Act makes our kids the targets of very sophisticated enlistment marketing. Military recruiters spend $4 billion/year, have unprecedented access to students, and few parents or kids know what to do about it. A counter-recruiting movement is telling the other side of the story, and how we can keep our kids off recruiting lists.

ARTICLES

• NEW   What Does an Anti-War Movement Look Like Today? – Celina R. De Leon
  The story of Marciella Guzmán's military service, and why she spends what little time she has between work and school to educate high school students about the realities of military service. How the Not Your Soldier Project and others, help youth stop the military invasion of our schools and our communities. – WireTap, August 7, 2006
  
  
• A Protest, a Spy Program and a Campus in an Uproar – Sarah Kershaw, The Santa Cruz Journal
  Things got messy. As the building filled, students storming in were blocked from entering. The recruiters left, some finding that the tires of their vehicles had been slashed. The protesters then occupied the recruiters' table. – t r u t h o u t, January 14, 2006
  
  
• Military Recruiters Out of Our Schools! – Ty Moore
  As the crisis in Iraq deepens, military recruiters are swarming our schools in growing numbers. They target poor, working-class youth who face a future of dead-end jobs, college debt (if you're lucky enough to even get into college!), or unemployment. Photos of Rally to End the War, Twin Cities, Nov 2, 2005 – Youth Against War and Racism, November, 2005
  
  
• Military Recruiters Are Now Targeting Sixth Graders. Who's Next? – Karen Houppert, The Nation
  Military recruiters are told to dig in deep at their assigned high schools, to offer their services as assistant coaches... to "offer to be a chaperon [sic] or escort for homecoming activities..." to "Deliver donuts and coffee for the faculty once a month..." to participate visibly in Hispanic Heritage and Black History Month activities... "eat lunch in the school cafeteria several times each month..." – CounterRecruiter.net, August 25, 2005
  
  
• Military Recruiters Have Unrivaled Access to Schools – Michael Berg
  The little-known section of the federal No Child Left Behind Act grants the Pentagon access to directories of all public high school students, to facilitate contact for military service recruitment. – Common Dreams, February 23, 2005
  
  
• Students not aware of opt-out provision to get off military recruiters' list – Bob Heberle
  Fortunately, students or parent may request that the students' information “not be released without prior written parental consent..." – Minnesota Veterans for Peace, Chapter 27
  
  
• The Class of '05 – Kirk Stapp
  After a marine or army recruiter visits Mammoth High School, students frequently ask me questions about my military experience in Vietnam. Eventually, these conversations lead to a single question: Should I enlist? – t r u t h o u t, June 24, 2005
  
  
• No Child Left Unrecruited? The Problem With the New "Opt Out" System – Anita Ramasastry
  Parents can "opt out" of having their children's information disclosed to military recruiters. But they must have proper notice of the law, and must act in time to stop disclosure. – FindLaw, Dec. 04, 2002
  
  
• The Battle for the Bodies of America’s Youth – Kevin Zeese
  The Army is missing recruiting goals and is working on a revised sales pitch appealing to the patriotism of parents. The Army says it is planning no return of the draft, but the choice for the US government might become withdraw from Iraq or enact a draft... The dishonesty of too many recruiters is being revealed. – DemocracyRising.US, March 23, 2005
  
  
• Calling All Soldiers: Military Recruiters Face Resistance From Young Anti-War Activists – Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
  The military spends about $3 billion each year to convince young people that enlistment will give them college money, job training and an alternative to working at McDonald's. – Common Dreams, February 24, 2005
  
  
• 'Counter-recruiters' shadowing the military – Rick Hampson
  Jim Murphy is a "counter-recruiter," one of a small but growing number of opponents of the Iraq war who say they want to compete with military recruiters for the hearts and minds of young people. – USA Today, March 7, 2005
  
  
• For Recruiters, a Hard Toll From a Hard Sell – Damien Cave, New York Times
  A recruiter in New York said pressure from the Army to meet his recruiting goals during a time of war has him suffering from bouts of depression; he said he has considered suicide. – michaelmoore.com, March 26th, 2005
  
  
• The Recruitment Minefield – Bill Bigelow
  Emiliano Santiago served honorably in the National Guard, became a sergeant, and was discharged in June 2004, after eight years. But last October, more than three months after his discharge, the government extended Santiago's termination date—to December 24, 2031. Yes, 2031; it's not a misprint. – Rethinking Schools Online, Spring 2005
  
  

WEBSITES

• NEW   Coalition for Alternatives to Military Service (CAMS)
  A counter-recruitment group meets the 2nd Saturday of each month, 10:30 am, at Twin Cities Friends Meeting, 1725 Grand Ave., St. Paul. Contact Mary at wamm@mtn.org .
  
  
• Project on Youth and Non-Military Opportunities
  Project YANO provides young people with an alternative point of view about military enlistment. Many of our members are armed forces veterans who believe that high school students are getting a distorted picture of the military and war from recruiting ads and marketing. Many low-income students and students of color are being diverted away from higher education and into the military, where they are found in disproportionate numbers.
  
  
• Youth Against War and Racism
  A network for students and youth across the Twin Cities to share experiences, support each other with solidarity, and jointly organize a growing anti-war resistance. Start a YAWR chapter at your school today! Launch a campaign against military recruitment in your school!
  
  
• CounterRecruiter.net
  A very up-to-date site that aims to chronicle the growing counter military recruiting movement across the country. It is a project of The Indypendent, the newspaper of the New York City Independent Media Center.
  
  
• Counter Military Recruitment Campaign– United for Peace and Justice
  September Mobilization -- Get Involved in Counter Recruitment Contingent, Anti-War Fair and Lobby Day. Actions: Picket, Protest, Pass a Resolution. Alternatives to the Military. More...
  
  
• Youth and Militarism Program – American Friends Service Committee
  We aim to halt the growing influence of the military in US schools... We also support those who refuse to participate in militarism...
  
• Do You Know Enough to Enlist? Military recruiters and ads promise: Job training...money for college.. ..adventure...leadership skills and more... Before you join, take a good look at what you're getting into.


• Don't Kill! Don't Die! OPT OUT! – Women Against Military Madness (WAMM)
  Students and parents of female and male students in grades 11 or 12: Stop your school from supplying private information to military recruiters. Includes Opt Out form to submit to the school every year: "I do not want military recruiters to be given private information about my child."
  
  
• Counter Recruitment – Minnesota Veterans for Peace Chapter 27
  The GI Rights Hotline, information on Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery Testing (ASVAB), Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC), and Project on Youth and Non-Military Opportunities for other ways to pay for college.
  
  
• Youth & Counter-Recruitment Organizing – Student Peace Action Network
  A grass roots organization of high school and college students across the US makes Counter Military Recruitment their key issue. See resources available for students, parents, enlisted military personnel, educators, and Spanish speakers.
  
  
• Military Free Zone – Underground Action Alliance
  A coalition of musicians and punk activists that want to take action and empower others to stand up and speak out against allowing recruiters to use our public schools for recruiting students.
  
  
• Teaching About the War– Rethinking Schools
  A special collection of articles and resources for classroom teachers, including materials that focus specifically on Iraq, as well as articles that address the more general issues of armed conflict and society's priorities.
  
  
• Leave my child alone! – Working Assets, ACORN, Mainstreet Moms Operation Blue (MMOB)
  DID YOU KNOW... that the infernal Leave No Child Behind Act has a sneaky Pete section requiring high schools to turn over student information to military recruiters? Support the Student Privacy Protection Act, and download materials to help organize.
  
  
• Counter recruitment–National Groups– DemocracyRising.US
  A conprehensive list of organizations that either do counter-recruiting, or have resources on their site for groups who want to do counter-recruiting in the schools.
  
  

A new draft, if revived, would probably include men and women, plus people with certain skills up to age 35. It would have fewer exemptions, and Canada would not be an option. In the meantime, all 18 year-old men are required to register for the draft. Should you register? If you want college financial aid, or certain jobs, you have no choice. Registering is not enlisting. What will happen if there is a draft?

ARTICLES

• Draft FAQ Sheet – by Stephanie O'Donnell, Roseville Area HS, and Christine Wimmer, Cretin-Durham Hall HS
  Q. What is the draft? A. The process of selecting U.S. citizens through a random lottery to fight in the war. Handout for draft and military info meetings, May, 2005.
  
  
• The Return of the Draft – Rolling Stone Magazine
  The best overview of why there will probably be a draft, denials by the Administration, and why some people–even Democrats–advocate a return to the draft. – January 27, 2005
  
  
• The Case for the Draft – Washington Monthly
  "America can remain the world's superpower. Or it can maintain its current all-volunteer military. It can't do both." How we find ourselves with a military personnel shortage, few options, and consideration of a new kind of 21st-Century Draft. – March 2005
  
  
• Draft 101: What it is and How it Would Work – Alliance for Security
  A little history, why things are different now, steps from couch to boot camp, and other links. – Adapted from the Selective Service System website
  
  

WEBSITES

• Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America– Is A Draft Coming?
  Links to articles and websites organized under headings like "Is the Military Stretched Thin?" and "The Military Seeks Troops from New Sources, " and "What about the Iraqi army and police force?"
  
  
• Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft– COMD
  COMD is an anti-militarism organization that also challenges the institution of the military, its effect on society, its budget, its role abroad and at home, and the racism, sexism and homophobia that are inherent in the armed forces and Selective Service System.
  
  
• A New Military Draft?– Rock the Vote
  The Info You Need to Know; 7 Ways You Can Continue Making Politicians Get Real on the Draft; and more Resources
  
  
• Mothers Against the Draft
  The best time to stop the draft is BEFORE it starts! What you can do, eleven things, plus Operation Opt-Out, how to protect your children's privacy, and be pro-active at your children's school.
  
  

All young adults will have to decide whether they can conscientiously kill or participate in war. If not, they need to be able to prove it. Now is the time to begin a CO file; if a draft is reinstated, you can decide then whether or not to use it. You can be a CO even if you have already registered for the draft; even if you are in the military. COs still have the responsibility of alternative service.

ARTICLES

• Who is a Conscientious Objector? (PDF) – Center on Conscience & War
  The law says that no person who is "conscientiously opposed to participation in war in any form" can be required to kill or be trained to kill in the military. A detailed definition of Conscientious Objector.
  
  
• How to Compile a CO Claim – Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors
  Start now to create documentation that you can use if you need to prove you are a CO. When you register with the Selective Service for the draft, you can comply with the law while adding to your documentation.
  
  
• Breaking Ranks to Shun War – The Los Angeles Times
  An Army sergeant who refuses to return to Iraq seeks a discharge as a conscientious objector. He may instead face a court-martial. – Truthout.org, February 7, 2005
  
  

WEBSITES

• Conscientious Objection– The GI Rights Hotline
  Right now, without a draft, only people in the military, or enlisted, can get official CO status. Although this site is for them, it has a lot of good information that applies to anyone thinking about their personal beliefs about serving in war.
  • Fact sheet: Conscientious Objection Describes the process of applying for CO status that is very similar to what you can expect in the event of a draft.
    
  
  
• Center on Conscience & War
  CCW works to defend and extend the rights of conscientious objectors. CCW participates in the G.I. Rights Hotline, a national referral and counseling service for military personnel. In the event of a military draft, CCW will assist in the placement of conscientious objectors in alternative service programs. The Center is opposed to all forms of conscription.
  
• Publications Sign up for a free quarterly newsletter, and get access to these excellent online materials. Includes: "Basic Draft and Registration Information," "Conscientious Objectors and the Draft," and many other materials that help you decide if you're a CO, and how to prepare now for the eventuality of a draft.


• Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors
  CCCO supports and promotes individual and collective resistance to war and preparations for war. Includes info about "GI Rights," "Before You Enlist," and "Questions and Answers about Draft Registration."
  
• Draft Registration Includes what to do when you turn 18, and what if you choose not to register. Keep clicking NEXT after each section.


• War Resisters' International
  WRI exists to promote nonviolent action against the causes of war, and to support and connect people around the world who refuse to take part in war or the preparation of war. On this basis, WRI works for a world without war. Programmes include the Right to Refuse to Kill, Prisoners for Peace, CO-Alerts, Dealing with the Past, and Nonviolence.
  
  
• War Resisters League
  Believing war to be a crime against humanity, the War Resisters League, founded in 1923, advocates Gandhian nonviolence as the method for creating a democratic society free of war, racism, sexism, and human exploitation.
  
  
• I Will Not Kill– The Fellowship of Reconciliation
  Conscientious Objection — It Takes Courage!   The “I Will Not Kill” campaign aims to educate high school and college age youth, especially youth of color, and youth in rural and impoverished white communities.
  
  

Please send recommendations for other articles and websites to Karen at web@parkpeace.org .