Back door draft

[MikMo]

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.

Some critics oppose the federal law on privacy grounds, but others say it provides an unfair opportunity for the military to sway young minds "? especially in economically depressed communities.

"They're not going to all the schools. They're going to the schools where they figure the kids will have less chance to go to college," said Rep. Jim McDermott (news, bio, voting record), D-Wash. "It's an insidious kind of draft, quite frankly."

Carroll, who is raising three grandchildren in a working-class neighborhood of Philadelphia, agrees that the practice is unfair. "I wouldn't want them to join," she said of her grandchildren.

But Pentagon officials say the military deserves the same access to students that schools give to colleges and employers.

"In the past, it was all-too-common for a school district to make student directory information readily available to vendors, prospective employers and post-secondary institutions while intentionally excluding the services," Air Force Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said in an e-mail.

"Having access to 17- to 24-year-olds is very key to us," said Maj. Gen. Michael Rochelle, commander of the Army Recruiting Command, said at a news conference Friday at Fort Meade, Md. "We would hope that every high school administrator would provide those lists to us. They're terribly important for what we're trying to do."

Asked about aggressive recruiters targeting young people, he said:

"I would certainly hope that we are harassing no one. A recruiter today has to contact roughly 100 people before they can generally get one of them to sit down and listen to the Army story. ... I'm not asking my recruiters to be any less aggressive. I would not wish for them to be overbearing or annoying."

As military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan drag on, the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines are having trouble attracting recruits to their reserve forces, though only the Army is falling short in attracting people for its active-duty ranks.

Andrew Rinaldi, a senior at Edison High School in Edison, N.J., filed an opt-out letter but said he was contacted by a recruiter anyway. He said the recruiter mocked his pacifist views. "They're becoming more aggressive," he said.

None of the nation's approximately 22,600 high schools has failed to comply with the military provision of No Child Left Behind, and just one is "finalizing its compliance," Krenke said. None has lost funding.

Before No Child Left Behind was signed into law in 2002, about 12 percent of the nation's schools refused to turn over student records to military recruiters, Pentagon officials said. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., who sponsored the recruitment provision, called the actions of those schools "offensive."

Now, activists are holding rallies and awareness campaigns to make sure students know they can opt out.

In Montclair, N.J., more than 80 percent of Montclair High School students have opted out since a student-led effort began last year.

"It's a place where military recruiters are not likely to have a ton of success, anyway, partly because ... a lot of parents can assist their kids with going to college," school district spokeswoman Laura Federico said.

In the urban blight of North Philadelphia, Joshua Gordy said the lure of college money led him to join the Army reserves at age 17. He said recruiters at his high school told him he could earn $35,000 for college.

That hasn't happened. Gordy, a 20-year-old reservist, said he apparently failed to send in the right paperwork in time. He hopes to enroll in community college this fall.

Rep. McDermott faults the military for enticing students with talk of patriotism, adventure and college funds, instead of giving them a realistic view of combat.

McDermott is among those in Congress trying to change the law so that students instead "opt-in" for recruitment.

"There's nothing dishonorable with serving in the military," said McDermott, a psychiatrist who served stateside during Vietnam. "But it ought to be done with your eyes open."

[PVVikeFan]

Oh I wish I had not seen this post. It several minutes to cool off enough for a response. This story is as full of holes as a screen door.

* To begin with recruiters with access to information about high school students is not what is referred to as a "back door draft".

* The statement "people of color who go into the military are put on the front line" is a crock. Been there, done that, know better. Stupid statement.

* The ACLU is the most anti American organization in the world. Just stop and think what this group has done to our country in the last few years. They take liberties from the many to pacify the few.

* Recruiters are working in the economically depressed areas? I didn't hear anybody from these areas crying about serving before there was a war. People went into the military when they could not find jobs anywhere else and that was fine. Now they are doing what they are paid to do, so the ACLU steps in.

* "There's nothing dishonorable with serving in the military," said McDermott, a psychiatrist who served stateside during Vietnam. "But it ought to be done with your eyes open." The word MILITARY should be a clue. You know that when you join. HELLO.

I wonder how many members of the ACLU have ever served, or would ever serve, in the military. Personally I think any menber of the ACLU should be in Gitmo with their own kind. That is my honest opinion. Agree with me, disagree with me, I don't care. I fought for your right to voice your opinion, as well as my right to voice mine. That is mine.

[MikMo]

The only problem I had with that is that Bush had that attached to the "No child left behind" law, stating that if high schools did not provide student information to the military, they would lose federal funding.

[retiredteach]

Excellent post, there, PVVikefan.

[PVVikeFan]

Thank you teach. This subject makes my blood boil. Especially the ACLU.
If our future military members do not come from our high schools, as has always been the case, who will do it? Anybody have an answer for that? I guess we should just have another draft and stop recruiting.

[MikMo]

Nobody's going to be happy on either situation, with the draft or with recruiters stalking the hallways of our high schools. However, since the last draft, the volunteer system has worked, with all branches able to recruit up to their quotas on a regular basis.

[PVVikeFan]

Ok, let's all just go along with all the bleeding heart liberals. Let's make all branches of the military stop recruiting. Let's close Gitmo and set all the terrorists free. Let's open our borders to anybody who wants to come in. Let's let the ACLU do just anything they want to do. NOW WHAT ????????

[MikMo]

No need to get hostile on me. And might as well let everybody in, the government is doing a crappy job of screening potential threats, anyway.

[PVVikeFan]

Certain subjects bring out that old "don't tread on me" mentality in me. This one, Flip Flop Kerry and Hanoi Jane to mention a few.

The problem as i see is isn't a backdoor draft. But something that has always went on. I remember recruiters back in my days in highschool. And that was right after the Vietnam era.
I talked to one or two of them. But honestly they don't have to go to a highschool to get to talk to a kid.
All they need is a database. My son was called by a Army recruiter just because he filled out a form and it indicated his age. You know selective service form?
The man was very nice explained to him, his commitment if he so chose and also the possibilities he could have.
If anything i see this as a racial thing. One that does nothing but divide a country. I sure don't want to go that far back myself. I have many friends of race if you want to use that term.
And as far as the people of race and color being put on the front lines. Well i know better than that. A good friend of mine is serving as a master sgt. in Iraq right now and he has people under him from all racial groups and ethic groups.
To me this lady has a problem. One that is still arguing white vs black, and the white man using the black man. Well if that be the case i guess pro sports should shut their doors. Look at the number there of people of other races and ethnic backgrounds.
And the ACLU is a bleeding heart group that will jump on anything that will keep them getting their funing. Yet you don't hear where all their funding comes from. Some should research this group. It has a long and colorful history as well.
And as my son told the recuriter who contacted him. Thanks for the information. But at this time i think i will pursue other options. The recruiter wished him well and that was the end of the conversation.
This lady is just looking to bark at something. To bad it has to go back to racial issues. I actually thought we had moved past that.
My cousins use to be very derrogatory of a lot of things, till they fought and died along with the same black, hispanic and others of different race and ethnic backgrounds in Vietnam. I hear them use the terms my brothers. And for them that is a long ways to come. Seems like some of us need to see it how they did.
No. I take that back. I wouldnt' want a war to prove were all Americans, whether black, white, hispanic or whatever. Problem is you have those who can't let the racial parts go. Well i know two who fought and served with some great brothers.
And i played ball with 3-4 men i consider my brothers and my friends.
A shame this woman is still living back in the day. Even me as laid back as i am learned to grow.