WAY OVER THE TOP
This EdNews piece on military recruitment via the g-schools is pretty unbelievable. Ninety percent reads like the worst sort of anti-military garbage one can imagine. It wasn’t until I got to the very end, that I realized it was all a straw man:
Many of the same parents who bemoan their having been given no prior knowledge of the release of their children’s phone numbers to the military, defend these same children’s right to an abortion without their parents’ awareness.
For many, their loathing of the military is exceeded only be their love of knowing that it’s there, just in case. Security’s cling has made cowards, or at least hypocrites of them. They know as well as anybody else that they would want the killers of their killers to be seen as humanitarians.
If the call of the military is such anathema to a targeted recruit that he recoils at even having diplomatic relations with them, that young American should luxuriate in the courage of his convictions, tell them where he lives, high-tail it to Canada, leaving a forwarding address, and gladly suffer the consequences.
If fired by honor, their protest would welcome the crucible of inconvenience. If lit by bravado, it would scramble for excuses to cheat the ordeal of self-sacrifice.
Once again the military stands by as the ideologues fight it out.
FWIW, I don’t like the opt-out policy, but I never like any opt-out policy. If the military wants a kid’s name and number, they should be required to ask. Thankfully, homeschoolers aren’t subject to this sort of subterfuge.
8 Responses to “WAY OVER THE TOP”
 Comment by Jason January 24th, 2005 at 11:42 am |
I’ve got extensive firsthand experience of how military recruiters work. They are under tremendous pressure to make their ‘targets’ (i.e. quotas), and being military they will always push the envelope in order to make their mission. If people are interested, I can ask my friends (who are recruiters) what policies / practices are in place. |
 Comment by Daryl Cobranchi January 24th, 2005 at 12:01 pm |
Heck, yeah! I’d be especially interested in how (or if) they recruit homeschoolers in light of this. |
 Comment by Rikki January 24th, 2005 at 1:01 pm |
I’m still waiting for them to come and take me away for not signing up with the selective service. See, I got this notice when I was 18, that I was required to register and of course, i’m an obstinate jacka$$. I figured if they came to my door with manacles, i’d just flash them and prove i was female. 😉 I got another notice when I was 24,I tossed it in the trash as well. I’m such a rebel. 😉 I wonder if they’ve figured out that the name “Rikki” doesn’t automaically mean male… |
|
Comment by Jason January 24th, 2005 at 1:37 pm |
Take it from a military guy, Rikki: flashing only encourages them! Seriously, though, that’s hilarious. When I was active duty, INS caught a 60s-era draft dodger coming over the Canada-US border. This dude was well into his 50s and had a wife, job and family in Canada. No matter. They clapped him in irons and shipped him down to Camp Pendleton, issued him three sets of uniforms and put him to work mopping floors and painting rocks. When local journalists asked the Marine public affairs officer what they would do with this guy, their answer was simple: “We will treat him like a Marine.” |
|
Comment by Daryl Cobranchi January 24th, 2005 at 1:44 pm |
I thought Carter had pardoned the draft resisters. Could he have been a deserter? They weren’t pardoned. As an aside, if Rikki is any indication, being a recruiter sounds like an interesting job. |
|
Comment by Jason January 24th, 2005 at 1:58 pm |
As I recall, this guy was a no-kidding deserter. He was one of the lucky few to actually be drafted into the Marine Corps in 1968. I don’t recall if he was a no-show or if he took off after reporting for duty. If I can find the story online I’ll shoot you a link: it was actually a pretty interesting story, and we Marines received it with a mixture of mirth and disgust – on the one hand it was funny that this guy got slammed after so many years; on the other hand, though, it always bothered me that the military would waste so much time and money to punish / clothe / feed the guy. |
 Comment by Chris January 24th, 2005 at 2:51 pm |
I spoke to an USAF officer recruiter after college and I’ll never forget my dads advice. “No matter what he says, he’s lying.” My dad was an enlisted man. My son appears to be on track for a career in the military, so I may have to deal with it some day. Personally I have no problem with an all volunteer military, and I don’t begrudge the military their efforts to recruit. Quite frankly, I don’t have any real problem with the military getting contacts lists from the public schools. There really is nothing particularly private about your name and phone number. Businesses have long sold customer contact info, or shared it selectively. 99% of us have social security numbers for our kids – they are not hidden from the govt. The schools are not providing data that the military could not get from many other sources. I think the decidedly anti-military bent of many public school officials probably had something to do with the law in the first place. As long as there is no requirement related to private schools or homeschoolers, I don’t see a problem. A military recruiter calls a few times and you either ignore the messages or tell him you are not interested. It seems like much ado about nothing to me. |
|
Comment by Jason January 25th, 2005 at 8:59 am |
Chris, I applaud your son’s interest in the military. If he has any questions and wants answers from somebody who has no reason to lie to him (i.e., somebody besides his recruiter) please put him in touch with me. My email address is jason0231@juno.com Remember, recruiter training is identical to corporate sales training. Recruiting is a tough and demanding job, and these people will do or say anything within the limits of the law to make their mission. Case in point: my recruiter told me that I had to enlist for a minimum of 6 years in order to get my desired career field. Because I had friends in the military, I asked him for a copy of the order or regulation. There was none, of course, and I ended up getting my desired enlistment of 4 years. Recruiters have a large / deep bag of tricks, and they reach into that bag until they find what works! Good luck to you and your son. Jason |