A new medium for frontline recruitment

A new medium for frontline recruitment

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bd6ce9a4-f345-11df-a4fa-00144feab49a.html

By Greg Farrell
Published: November 18 2010

Deep within the bowels of the sprawling military complex at Fort Knox
in the Kentucky countryside, Bruce Jasurda takes some satisfaction in
knowing that his mission, which is never fully accomplished, is at
least going well.

A 57-year-old civilian who began his career as an Army cadet, Mr
Jasurda has a tough job as chief marketing officer of the 1.2m-strong
fighting force: with the US mired in two increasingly unpopular
conflicts, how does the lead recruiter for the US Army sell the youth
of America on volunteering for a 36-month stint?

The hard part, it turns out, is not to increase the numbers but to
make sure that those selected are of the right calibre and sufficient
diversity to reflect the nation for which they will fight.

"We're the ultimate considered purchase," Mr Jasurda says, before
adding with a touch of mordant humour: "If you buy this product, you
could die."

Since the draft was dropped in 1973 in favour of a volunteer fighting
force, the US Army has relied on a hefty advertising budget to pound
its slogan into the minds of 17- to 24-year-olds.

From 1980 to 2001, the slogan was "Be All You Can Be", a catchy call
to action that resonated in popular culture. It was replaced with "An
Army of One", a clunker abandoned in 2006. "Army Strong" is the current theme.

With an advertising budget of almost $200m, the media buying was
always weighted heavily towards television spots, with some print and
radio thrown in. Yet, by the time Mr Jasurda arrived last year to
serve as a fresh pair of eyes in charge of the marketing programme,
it had become clear that the media plan was no longer connecting with
the most appropriate potential recruits. Research showed that the
scholar-athletes coveted by the Army were spending more of their time
online, not parked on a sofa in front of a TV.

Mr Jasurda and the man who hired him, Lt Gen Benjamin Freakley,
counselled cutting back TV, building up the Army's web presence, and
giving thousands of soldiers access to the internet with an
unfettered ability to blog about their experiences in the field.

The social media platform lets the Army fill a gap that has emerged
between ordinary Americans and the military. "Today, less than 1 per
cent of the US population has served in the armed forces," says Mr
Jasurda. The only image many potential recruits have of the Army
comes from TV or the movies.

Visitors to the Army's website can now see the results of the social
media experiment. Under the heading "Army Strong Stories", soldiers
talk about why they signed up (because the army paid for college, in
many instances). Some, displaying impressive directorial skills, have
posted mini-documentaries about battles and spoofs of well-known music videos.

Although there was initial concern in the Pentagon about letting
soldiers express themselves so openly, Mr Jasurda says everyone
ultimately agreed that the soldiers would act responsibly. "We
recruit them and send them to the rifle range," he says. "If we're
going to be a serious consideration for potential recruits, the onus
is on us to make sure we're transparent and informative."

A Chicago-area native, Mr Jasurda joined the Army in 1975, became a
paratrooper, and got his masters in communications at Northwestern's
Medill School, after which he worked, as an officer, on the Army's
"Be All You Can Be" ad campaign, then handled by NW Ayer.

Mr Jasurda left the Army in 1985 to work at Ogilvy & Mather in
Chicago and from 1997 through 2008, he worked as a turnround
specialist for companies in trouble.

But he is quick to point out that army recruitment was not in need of
a turnround when he arrived.

The perks and trappings of his life as an ad executive are gone.
Instead, Mr Jasurda enjoys the sense of purpose that animated his
early career in the Army.

"We have 100 per cent awareness," he says. "We've been in all the big
wars. What we have is a perception problem."

.

Hanover Students Prepare for Military Life

Hanover Students Prepare for Military Life

http://www.wtvr.com/news/wtvr-hanover-students-prepare-for-m-111810,0,5088966.story

Enlisting in Military an Increasingly Popular Option

Sam Brock/ Veronia Garabelli
November 18, 2010

MECHANICSVILLE ­

Life after graduation can be an uncertain time for some, but a few
students at Lee-Davis High School in Hanover County know exactly
where they're going, the military.

The students are part of the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
class at Lee-Davis.

Thursday they were visited by Staff Sgt. William Partrea, a recruiter
for the U.S. Army.

Partrea said he enjoys talking to classes like this one because the
students are engaged, and curious about life in the military for a
variety of reasons.

"We're not trying to force this upon anybody. It's either for you, or
it's not," Partrea said. "We're the only all-volunteer military in
the world, so that's what we're looking for is somebody to volunteer."

Partrea said the recruitment process is generally about providing
guidance and accurate information. He added that he no longer has to
sell a program that essentially sells itself.

"The public perception is, 'oh, join the military, they'll take
anyone,' said the 33-year-old West End native who graduated from
Godwin High School. "Now, the military is a great option. It's going
to give me everything I can get in the civilian sector, but it's
guaranteed to me today, tomorrow, next year, two or three years down
the road."

Participants in the JROTC program at Lee-Davis cited several reasons
for their interest in the armed services, from family members who
once served to finding a structured environment.

All of the seniors who spoke with CBS 6, however, agreed that job
security and help paying for college is a major part of the military's appeal.
"For the last few years, I've been trying to figure out what I can do
about going to school and still join the [Marine] Corps," said Fowler
Evans. "Now I'm doing the NROTC scholarship and they're going to pay
for everything....it helps my family a lot."

Shakira Gibson, likewise, knew from an early age that she wanted to
join the military. Gibson will be enlisting in the Marine Corps in
July, and plans on maximizing the experience for her education and
sense of integrity.

"You get a lot of morals out of [serving], and that's what I wanted
the most," Gibson said.

As for Partrea, he said he's not trying to persuade young adults to
join the Army specifically, but to make sound decisions with their lives.

He added, "anything you can do outside these walls, you can do in the
military."

Partrea said the plummeting economy has made joining the Army more
competitive. Since last year, 99.9 percent of people who joined the
military had a high school degree or higher, Partrea said.

.

Military leaders say DREAM Act would benefit recruitment

Military leaders say DREAM Act would benefit recruitment

http://floridaindependent.com/15357/military-leaders-say-dream-act-would-benefit-recruitment

By Marcos Restrepo
11/19/10

Miami-Dade college students and immigration activists held an event
Wednesday to support Senate leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. ­ who will
present the DREAM Act during the Senate's lame-duck session.

The DREAM Act, bipartisan legislation that would allow undocumented
students and those wishing to join the military a path to legal
permanent status, has been supported by former military personnel and
Department of Defense officials.

According to Think Progress, "on a national conference call, former
and retired military personnel called on Senators to pass the
National Defense Authorization Act with the DREAM Act as an amendment
to the legislation."

The Immigration Policy Center cites Margaret Stock, a retired
lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, and a former professor
at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, who said, "In a time
when several military services are experiencing difficulties
recruiting eligible enlisted soldiers, passage of this bill could
well solve the Armed Forces' enlisted recruiting woes and provide a
new source of foreign-language-qualified soldiers."

The Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2010-12 of the Office of the
Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness released in
December 2009 supports the DREAM initiative.

American Voices cites David S. C. Chu, undersecretary of defense for
personnel and readiness under George W. Bush, who

called for action on the DREAM Act to strengthen the military. "If
their parents are undocumented or in immigration limbo, most of these
young people have no mechanism to obtain legal residency even if they
have lived most of their lives here. Yet many of these young people
may wish to join the military, and have the attributes needed –
education, aptitude, fitness, and moral qualifications."

.

Services Meet New Fiscal Year With Recruiting Success

Services Meet New Fiscal Year With Recruiting Success

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=61797

By Elaine Wilson
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 22, 2010 – Defense Department officials announced
the services' recruiting and retention numbers for the first month of
the new fiscal year, as well as a change in the way they report
recruiting numbers to the public.

The services already are off to a good start, with both active and
reserve components meeting or exceeding their year-to-date accession
goals, Curtis Gilroy, the Pentagon's accession policy director, said.

Gilroy attributes the services' recruiting success, in part, to the
economy but also cites other significant factors, such as patriotism.

"The improved situation in Iraq and continued support from Congress
also greatly enhance recruiting efforts," he said. "Patriotism is one
of the contributing factors to recruiting success as well, as 4 out
of 10 new Army recruits cite 'service to country' for their reason
for enlisting."

Within the active duty, the Army made 103 percent of its goal with
6,643 recruits against a target of 6,425. The Navy made 100 percent
of its goal with 2,291 recruits. The Marine Corps made 100 percent of
its goal with 2,457 recruits against a goal of 2,448. The Air Force
also made 100 percent of its goal with 1,511 recruits.

The Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force retentions are near or
above the fiscal year-to-date goals through October, officials said.

Within the reserve components, the Army National Guard made 110
percent of its accession goal, signing up 4,973 recruits against
4,504. The Army Reserve made 108 percent of its goal with 2,774
accessions against 2,557. The Navy Reserve met its goal of 665
accessions. The Marine Corps Reserve was successful, making 130
percent of its goal with 1,154 accessions against a goal of 889.

The Air National Guard made 135 percent its goal of 541 with 729
recruits, and the Air Force Reserve made 101 percent of its goal with
769 recruits against a goal of 760.

As for attrition rates, losses in all reserve components were within
acceptable limits, officials said.

Along with the recruiting numbers, officials announced they will now
use fiscal year-to-date goals rather than monthly goals to report recruiting.

Officials decided to change the way they present the numbers to offer
the public a more comprehensive look at military recruiting, Gilroy said.

To derive recruiting goals, officials consider the number of
servicemembers who may choose to stay in or leave each month and then
factor in a service's desired end strength. The services then adjust
recruiting mission to ensure end-strength goals won't be exceeded, an
official explained.

Services may purposely come in under short-term goals with the
big-picture numbers in mind, Gilroy noted, a practice that can be
misinterpreted when looked at on a month-to-month basis.

"In the past, the services have, on occasion, intentionally 'missed'
their monthly recruiting goals to ensure they don't come in over end
strength," he explained. "This gives the false impression that
recruiting goals are not being met, when in fact, for the year, the
services are meeting or exceeding their goals.

"By reporting against year-to-date goals, the public is provided a
more comprehensive picture of military recruiting," he said.

.

Marketing War to Children

Marketing War to Children,
Paid for by American Taxpayers

http://blog.buzzflash.com/node/11960

11/17/2010
by BOB KOEHLER

In the gap between a boy's passionate fantasies and the smell of dead
bodies in a mass grave marches . . . America's Army.

"He wonders if God is punishing him because before he joined the Army
he thought of war as something fun and exciting."

We couldn't wage our current wars without the all-volunteer military
whose recruitment goals get fed every year by idealistic young
people, who continue, despite all counter-evidence bursting off the
front pages, to buy into the romance and excitement of war and armed
do-goodism that the recruiters, with the help of a vast
"militainment" industry, peddle like so many Joe Camels.

The words quoted above are from a psychologist's PTSD evaluation of a
young soldier named Brad Gaskins, whom I wrote about several years
ago; he was one of the soldiers in the first wave of our 2003
invasion of Iraq. He went AWOL after his second deployment.

"Bulldozers were used to push the bodies into mass graves," the
psychologist wrote after her interview with him. "The bodies would
fall apart, the smell was unforgettable. He felt badly that the
bodies were treated with such disrespect. There was no effort made to
identify the dead so that their families could know what happened to
them. He was expected to handle many of the dead bodies which were
significantly decayed and often 'oozing goop' into the ground."

As far as I'm concerned, this is the only appropriate context in
which to talk about the gaming industry, which has been on my mind
since I read the other day about the possible resurgence of an
unpublished video game called Six Days in Fallujah. The video game
had been promoted last year as an "interactive documentary" about the
second battle of Fallujah, in November 2004, and had generated
excitement in the gamer community, but was killed just before it was
due to be released by the Japanese company Ko­nami because its
reality-based action made it too controversial - it crossed over a
public relations line and dishonored the troops who had actually
fought in Fallujah, apparently.

Of course, it also dishonored the thousands of Iraqi civilians who
were slaughtered there, not to mention the ones who are now battling
cancer and leukemia and other plagues of an environment polluted by
the aftermath of war - and not to mention the large number of
post-invasion children born with birth defects, thought to be caused,
or partially caused, by the residue of depleted uranium left behind
by U.S. weaponry.

But nobody in the gaming industry, or the media that covers it,
evinced a concern about that, or noted that Six Days in Fallujah and
all the other war games that children and adults play are merely
sophisticated e-versions of cowboys and Indians: the dance of good
and evil played out in a consequence-free context. The good guys are
always "us" and the bad guys of the moment are often merely our victims.

In any case, this controversy dredged up for me some far larger
issues, such as the cozy relationship between the military-industrial
complex and our multitrillion-dollar entertainment industry and,
beyond that, the strange and sick relationship between the Pentagon
and American boyhood, as manifested by the taxpayer-sponsored website
AmericasArmy.com, which since 2002 has been one of the Army's most
effective recruiting tools. The site sanitizes and romanticizes war
for kids 13 and up, with the aim of reeling them in young.

I recoil fiercely at this site. It strikes me as the very essence of
America's own arrested development: We command the world's largest
arsenal and throw our weight around with an adolescent swagger.
Neocons famously declared "high noon" with Saddam Hussein. If
militarists had to face long-term or even short-term accountability
for the damage they wreak, war would be obsolete in an eye blink.

When I think about AmericasArmy.com, I think about my own boyhood and
the endless games of "war" the kids on my block played. We killed one
another endlessly with pretend guns made out of sticks; and we died,
over and over, with the highest theater possible. We jumped off one
another's front porches into the bushes, doing our swan dives of
death. We imagined dying by every possible grade of weapon, up to and
including hydrogen bombs, whose mushroom clouds leapt from the front
pages of the newspapers that arrived on our doorsteps.

We also had real fights with one another occasionally, and there was
nothing pretty about them - but what is startling and fascinating to
me is that real fighting bore no emotional relationship with pretend
fighting and dying. The pretend stuff was part of a natural process
of becoming, of growing up; it was, I am convinced, play in a
spiritual sense, as we communed with heroic glory and reached for our futures.

This has nothing to do with real war, but the adults with a
self-interest in its perpetuation continue to sell it to the young as
though it were. What an obscenity, it seems to me, to exploit the
yearning of the young, and feign a solidarity with it, in order to
perpetuate a system that will in all likelihood simply chew them up.

.

Downturns make work easier for military recruiters

Downturns make work easier for military recruiters

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/11/21/2457929/downturns-make-work-easier-for.html

By SCOTT CANON
11/21/2010

A bad economy means a better U.S. Army.

Since this country ended the draft in 1973 there has been one
constant: Boom times are tough for military recruiters, and
recessions put the Army in a buyer's market.

No doubt, say those who study the complex issue of military
recruitment, the reasons that young men and women decide to don
uniforms are myriad. A way to pay for college, to learn a trade. A
route to discipline, or to follow the route paved by a father or
sister. To avenge 9/11, to test one's mettle, to serve something
bigger than one's self.

"Maybe they want the adventure. Most people also care deeply about
the conditions of service," said Cindy Williams, a defense analyst
and personnel expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"But every individual who joins the military joins for their own
unique blend of reasons."

Still, in the aggregate, you can't discount two gigantic factors: the
danger perceived by potential recruits and their families; and what
sort of civilian options are out there.

"Their other opportunities have shrunk," said Beth Asch, a senior
economist specializing in manpower for the Rand Corp. "So they begin
to think about signing up."

Even the Army estimates that historically a 1 percent uptick in
civilian unemployment yields a 0.6 percent increase in Army
recruiting. Indeed, the Army, Air Force and Navy all exceeded both
their retention goals for current troops and their recruiting goals
for incoming service members over the summer.

Typically the Army ­ which must fill far more positions and generally
sees its forces more commonly put in harm's way ­ struggles more than
the other branches to fill its ranks.

At the height of the Iraq war, and after the economy rebounded after
Sept. 11, 2001, the Army made its goals by repeatedly lowering its
standards. That meant more troops who lacked high school diplomas,
with minor criminal records or who couldn't meet the usual weight and
fitness standards.

The Army countered by sending more recruiters across the country and
ratcheting up signing bonuses.

But with the United States now mostly withdrawn from Iraq and with
the Afghan conflict drawing less attention, the economy's woes have
led more young people to recruiting offices.

"It's very, very cyclic based on the economy," said MIT's Williams.
"Right now it's harder to get jobs on the outside."

.

Countering military recruitment in SF/Bay Area schools

Countering military recruitment in SF/Bay Area schools

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=5k9y5rcab&v=001pbUA9HXeQV-g05akBSQ_eNmWJK7LHoWmxn8P4spJZNYSuBEgxLfF11hIF3AoiYbiWUYxyBFbKg_yrU-0ds7qIdxbyX4h23xRZ-SaJBvC7xPHpDjPq-sp0w%3D%3D

.

The New Face of Military Recruiting

Making Contact -
The New Face of Military Recruiting -
October 29, 2010

http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/65002

.

Number of Army Suicides Already Surpasses 2009 Total

Number of Army Suicides Already Surpasses 2009 Total

http://www.nationaljournal.com/nationalsecurity/number-of-army-suicides-already-surpasses-2009-total-20101119

By Sara Sorcher
Friday, November 19, 2010

Despite a rapidly expanding effort to improve the mental well-being
of its soldiers, new Army data suggest that the service's suicide
epidemic shows little sign of improvement, with more troops taking
their own lives so far this year than ever before.

The data released by the Pentagon on Friday indicate that there were
25 potential suicides for both active-duty and reserve service
members. Two by active-duty troops were confirmed. In a separate
document from the Army, five suicides of reservists have been
confirmed. The rest are all under investigation.

As of today's numbers, at least 172 soldiers committed suicide this
year­surpassing last year's total of 162 for all of 2009.

Suicide is the third-leading cause of death for soldiers, trailing
only combat deaths and accidental deaths from drug overdoses and
drunken driving, the Army's Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli
said in the foreword to a report on military suicide issued in July.
Chiarelli, a four-star general, has made a personal commitment to
suicide prevention.

The military has invested tens of millions of dollars in a crash
effort to combat the ever-increasing suicide rate, hiring more
mental-health professionals, installing video-teleconferencing
centers to allow soldiers on remote bases in Afghanistan to
communicate with stateside mental-health professionals, and
distributing laminated cards for soldiers to better recognize signs
of depression or suicidal thoughts.

Many soldiers are reluctant to admit that they're depressed or
anxious for fear of harming their careers, being passed over for
promotions, or being mocked by their peers.

"Army leaders at every level have an enormous influence on helping to
eliminate the stigma surrounding seeking behavioral health
assistance, reducing high-risk behavior and reducing our unacceptable
casualty rates," Col. Chris Philbrick, deputy director of the Army's
risk reduction task force, said in the Pentagon news release.

When U.S. forces invaded Iraq in 2003, the Army's suicide rate was
11.4 per 100,000 soldiers. By last year, it reached 21.8 per 100,000
soldiers, surpassing the suicide rate of the general population for
the first time.

Prescription drugs were involved in almost one-third of the service's
active-duty suicides, the Army's suicide-prevention task force said
in its July report.

National Journal reported in October that the number of
psychiatric-medication prescriptions filled for customers ages 18 to
34­the age range of most active-duty troops and their spouses­soared
by 85 percent between 2003 and 2009, according to the military's
health insurance system.

"There's been an increased use of antidepressants and other
medications and there's been a significant increase in the number of
suicides and attempted suicides," Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., told the
magazine. "Intuitively it just tells you that there's a connection."

.

Transitioning from High School to military duty

Transitioning from High School to military duty can be a rigorous but
fulfilling process

http://www.pntoday.com/2010/11/12/transitioning-from-high-school-to-military-duty-can-be-a-rigorous-but-fulfilling-process/

November 12, 2010

Some kids dream of going to Harvard, Yale, Princeton or other Ivy
League schools across the country. Others dream of fighting for the country.

There are over 675,000 men and woman enlisted in the U.S. army today.
72 percent of these men and woman are on active duty, while the other
28 percent are in the reserve.

Well, what does it mean to be in the reserve? First you must endure
Basic Combat Training (BCT). BCT is spilt up into three phases – Red,
White, and Blue- which take place over a nine week period.
While at BCT your supplies is limited, you're allowed one small bag
with clothes, a combination lock, toiletries and a maximum of fifty
dollars in cash or a debit card to use in case of an emergency.

There are over 30 camps in the United States and Puerto Rico alone,
plus many additional camps spread out throughout the world.

The Red Phase consists of orientation, a haircut, fitness tests and
learning about nuclear biological and chemical defense as well as
rappelling and landmine defense.

The White Phase is the real transition from being a citizen to
becoming a soldier. In the White Phase, one learns field training,
rifle marksmanship, engagement skills and obstacle courses.

The Blue phase is the last of the BCT phases and is made up of more
field and weapons training, foot marches and finally, graduation. A
soldier's graduation is something to be proud of, and the army
welcomes ones family and friends to attend.

"You make a lot of friends [at BCT]" says Kickapoo graduate,
Specialist Logan Stohl.

Stohl has been in the army reserve for about three years now and
still has a very fresh memory about his experience at Fort Sill,
Oklahoma. "3 am: wake up, then PT (physical training), and it varied
from there." Stohl said, "Sometimes you're in the field, and
sometimes you end up in a classroom." He goes on to say.

There are many opportunities that branch off of the army such as arts
and media, computers and technology, intelligence support, mechanics
and many more. Sergeant Dusty Wilmore has been in the military for
nine years and says he joined to keep up his family tradition and for
all of the career opportunities.

Spc. Stohl and Sgt. Wilmore are two of the many recruiters that go
from school to school to involve and encourage young teens to become
interested and consider a future in the military. Sgt. Wilmore
personally visits six schools regularly to offer awareness to teenagers.

.

Two views on enlisting share a goal: An informed decision

Two views on enlisting share a goal:
An informed decision

http://www.kval.com/news/107280808.html

By Tara Celentano and Leilani Rapaport
Nov 11, 2010

EUGENE, Ore. - Michael Stout spends a lot of his time providing high
students with accurate information about the Marine Corps.

So does Carol Van Houten.

The difference? Stout is a Marine staff sergeant on recruiting duty.
Van Houten organizes the Truth in Recruiting project.

"Truth in Recruiting is a program to get information - accurate
information - out to young people about what enlisting in the
military really entails," Van Houten said.

Formerly known as the Committee for Countering Military Recruitment,
Truth in Recruiting is a non-profit organization and joint project of
the Community Alliance of Lane County and the Eugene chapter of
Veterans for Peace. The group was active in the 1980s but took on a
new level of activity in 2002 as the U.S. prepared to invade Iraq.

"One of the things we've asked the schools to do is to limit the
military recruiters to a reasonable amount of time in the schools,"
Van Houten said.

Staff Sgt. Stout uses that time to give prospective Marines a better
picture of what the military has to offer.

"A lot of people don't know that the Marine Corps even has aviation,
they don't understand that the Marine Corps has administration, or
legal, or mechanics," he said. "They just think we're all crazy
people that come out of the sea with ka-bars and M-16s."

In this multimedia piece, Oregon NewsLab talks with Staff Sgt.
Michael Stout, military recruiter for the Marines; Carol Van Houten,
organizer of Truth in Recruiting; and Coleman Hyerstay, senior at
Churchill High School. They provide insight into the life of a
recruiter, the concerns of Truth in Recruiting - and the perspective
of a student who recently enlisted in the Marines.

"I enlisted in the Marine Corps reserves and during that time I
intend to go to Oregon State," Hyerstay said. "There were other other
options considers, yes. I just felt that this was the one I wanted to do.

"My parents were supportive of my decision to join," he said. "They
just wanted more information on it so they could be well informed."

.

Navy recruiter gave suds to underage buds

Police:
Navy recruiter gave suds to underage buds

http://www.sanduskyregister.com/perkins-twp/2010/nov/08/police-navy-recruiter-gave-suds-underage-buds

Melissa Topey
Nov 08, 2010

(UPDATED with sentencing in case) A Navy recruiter provided alcohol
to teenagers at the West Perkins Avenue military recruiting offices,
according to Perkins police.

Justin R. Szadkowski, 24, pleaded no contest Nov. 1 to one
misdemeanor charge of furnishing alcohol to underage persons,
according to court records.

After sentencing Tuesday, the recruiter walked out of Sandusky
Municipal Court with a suspended sentence.

Saying he has never given jail time for such a charge, Judge Erich
O'Brien temporarily suspended a 60-day jail sentence as long as
Szadkowski has no further encounters with police for a year.

His career with the Navy could be in jeopardy, O'Brien said.

Navy spokesman Keith Bryska said the military is investigating the
matter and wouldn't comment on Szadkowski's status.

Szadkowski served liquor and beer to an 18-year-old and two
19-year-olds in the military recruiter's office on West Perkins
Avenue, a police report said.

Police went to the office at 11:26 p.m. Oct. 28 to investigate a
report about teenagers drinking there with recruiters, the report said.

Officers arrived and saw a man at the front door go back inside.
Despite repeated knocks no one came to the door, so all but one
officer left the scene. A short time later, the officer saw three
young women walking in the field south of the recruiting office. He
also saw a man walking toward a nearby gas station.

Officers took all four people to the police station and discovered
three of them had been drinking.

Macy Christiansen, 18, of the 2100 block of St. Clair St. in
Sandusky; Kayla A. Robbins, 19, of the 10000 block of Milan Road in
Milan; and J. Nicholas Uhl, 19, of the 4100 block of Woodridge Drive
in Sandusky were all charged with underage alcohol consumption.

"The females stated they were with Navy Recruiter Justin Szadkowski,"
Perkins police Sgt. Vince Donald's report said. "I asked if they were
drinking with Justin and they stated yes."

The teens told police they'd planned on meeting up with a Marine
recruiter and going to drink at area bars. The other recruiter never
showed up at the recruiting office, the report said.

Once inside the office, police found beer and rum, the report said.

Szadkowski initially denied he provided alcohol to the underage
drinkers, but later admitted he purchased beer for them at Friendship
gas station. He told police the females drank while he played video
games in the recruiting office.

He also said they all went into the Marine recruiter's office and
drank beer and rum.

A portable breathalyzer test showed Szadkowski's blood-alcohol
content was 0.02 percent, the report said.

Szadkowski declined to comment to a reporter, referring questions to
a Navy public information officer.

Szadkowski's commanding officer, Sgt. Jason Haar, also referred
questions to the public information officer.

.

Army recruiting sets records

Army recruiting sets records

http://www.queenscourier.com/articles/2010/11/10/news/top_stories/doc4cdad0088c7be175593921.txt

BY WILLIAM RENNISON
November 10, 2010

For the second year in a row, the U.S. Army reached its recruiting
goal in the New York City area as young men and women who are
struggling to find jobs find opportunities in the military.

The Army has seen the average recruit's age and number of recruits
with some college education rise in recent years with the downturn in
the economy as unemployment has doubled. "The sky's the limit with
regards to advancement in the military and those opportunities that
are out there for success," said Lieutenant Colonel Omuso George on November 3.

The U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion, New York City, which includes
NYC, Long Island and Westchester, beat its goals for the fiscal year
by an even wider margin than the overall national numbers. New York
reached 114 percent of the active member goal of 1,589, while the
national average was at 100.1 percent.

A recruit's incentive may be financial gain and a steady job in the
military service, career goals or the educational opportunities, with
up to $83,448 towards college for a six-year enlistment and
opportunities for continued services, said George.

The Army also gained recruits from a pilot program for legal,
non-green card holders with skills in a designated foreign language
to enlist called the Military Accessions Vital to the National
Interest which offers a chance at expedited citizenship.

"Recruiting for an all volunteer force is not without challenges,
especially in a period of persistent conflict," said George.

The Lieutenant Colonel, a graduate of Hempstead High School in Long
Island, said, "I attribute our success to the work of our
non-commissioned officers," he said. "We're not just looking at our
officers as recruiters, but counselors. They have a world of
experience and training and they can really make a difference in
someone's life."

"We try hard to work with the community to reach out to mentor and
assist wherever we can in the communities and in our schools,
especially our high schools," said George. "Helping our youth stay in
school is one of our primary messages."

The goal for the 2011 fiscal year, which began in October, is 67,000
enlistees for active duty and there are already over 33,000 enlistees
in the delayed entry pool, which are people who have already
enlisted, but have not yet entered basic training. The New York City
Battalion goal for the first quarter is 425.

.

School trustees consider new policy for on-campus recruiters

School trustees consider new policy for on-campus recruiters

http://lajollalight.com/2010/11/10/school-trustees-consider-new-policy-for-on-campus-recruiterse/

11/10/2010

The San Diego Unified School District Board of Education discussed a
policy Tuesday night to regulate military and college recruiting at
district schools.

Board Member John de Beck proposed the policy, which establishes
guidelines to promote balanced recruiting.

Students, parents and administrators appeared at the board meeting
and spoke in support of the policy. Several students from Mission Bay
and Lincoln high schools said they had been subject to aggressive
recruiting practices by military recruiters. The students expressed
frustration at a perceived inequality between military recruitment
and college recruitment on their campuses.

"I'm seeing more military recruitment than college recruitment," said
a senior from Lincoln High School.

San Diego High School of the Arts Principal Consuelo Manriquez echoed
student concerns.

"Why don't we have the college recruiters as well?" asked Manriquez.

According to the policy, recruiters would have to stay in assigned
areas on campus, sign in at the main office and would not be able to
approach students. Students would have to initiate contact. The
policy also restricts recruiters from requesting contact information
from students. Recruiters would only be able to provide their own
contact information, giving students the option to contact them
outside of school.

According to de Beck, the purpose of the policy is to have all
recruiters, whether from the military or from higher education,
adhere to the same guidelines.

Board Member John Lee Evans said the policy would promote balanced recruiting.

"Balanced recruiting would mean not coercing information out of
people," said Evans. "I think what's good about this policy is it
covers all types of recruiting."

The ASVAB aptitude test, which is given to students by military
recruiters and school counselors to determine career interest, was
also a point of contention in the meeting.

De Beck asked the board to consider a separate action on the test,
which he said violates policy. De Beck voiced concern over the
requirement for private information like Social Security numbers on the test.

"What I don't like is that you have to give data out about the kid in
order to get the test processed," said de Beck.

Under the proposed policy, confidential information collected through
aptitude tests could not be used for recruiting purposes.

The board is scheduled to vote on the policy on Nov. 30.

.

De Beck wants consistent recruiter policy

De Beck wants consistent recruiter policy

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/nov/08/de-beck-wants-consistent-recruiter-policy/

November 8, 2010

SAN DIEGO ­ Despite close proximity to two military bases, some
students across the San Diego Unified School District are not being
educated on the option of making a career out of the armed forces,
board member John de Beck said Monday.

According to a policy proposed by de Beck and set to be considered by
the board Tuesday, recruiters ­ including those from universities,
technical schools, employers and the military ­ would have access to
campuses twice every school year to distribute information about
their respective programs.

De Beck said the idea for the policy was born out of some parents'
concerns over consistent calls from military recruiters to
high-achieving high school students and less contact with
lower-performing students about their military options.

Recruiters are currently allowed on campuses but the policy would
regulate how often and in what capacity they could visit schools.
They would also be required to speak only to "students who
affirmatively approach (them) for information."

Formal college and career fairs would not count against the two
allowed school visits. The policy is one of the last de Beck said he
would propose before he leaves the dais in January to make room for
his successor, Scott Barnett, who defeated him in last week's election.

.

Tech, economy boost military recruitment

Tech, economy boost military recruitment

http://www.citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101114/GJNEWS02/311149997/-1/CITNEWS

By AARON SANBORN
asanborn@fosters.com
November 14, 2010

Technology is quickly becoming one of the stronger allies for
military recruiters seeking to sell their respective military
branches to potential new troops.

Recruiters say websites, text messaging and social networking are
helping to push their numbers up, though the economy also may be
playing a role.

Advancements in military websites and the emergence of social media
and other technology are creating an important extra layer of
communication that helps those who are on the fence about joining the
military get information ­ without having to come face-to face with a
military official until they're ready, recruiters say.

According to Master Sgt. Ron Connary, a recruiter with the New
Hampshire National Guard, there are many people who are interested in
military service, but are hesitant to speak with a military recruiter.

In situations like these, the technological layer becomes an
important way to establish a rapport. For the Guard, text messaging
is part of that.

"With the old way of recruiting we'd get a list and contact people,"
he said. "But now technology has changed so much, people don't even
like to respond to e-mail anymore."

This is where texting comes in handy, according to Connary. Those
interested in joining the Guard are able to text the phone number of
a recruiter and ask whatever questions they would like. The phone
numbers are listed on the Guard's website/

Connary said this strategy is particularly popular with high school students.

"When students are in school, they don't always have computers, so
they check their phones for text messages," he said. "The students
are always mobile and having that cell phone handy allows us to
respond to them at any time and allows them to text us at any time."

The text messaging allows the students to control the interview and
they're not as nervous, according to Connary. Eventually, they're
ready to set up a face-to-face interview.

"Once you establish that rapport, you can take the next step," he said.

Connary said the Guard doesn't use Facebook to recruit but is active
with its website and YouTube because both represent an effective way
to show video about what the guard does.

"I think technology is making recruiting better because it provides
another way to send our message out," he said. "If we can provide
another option to help someone make that next step and give us a
call, then that's key to moving someone's life forward."

Navy recruiters use several social media websites to help raise
awareness about their branch.

Chris Gorham, the head recruiter for the Navy's Nashua recruiting
station, called Facebook an excellent tool.

"We look at it as free advertising," he said. "Word of mouth has
always been a good way to spread our message, but with social media
you can spread that word of mouth at a much greater speed."

Videos about boot camp and different Naval missions are also posted
on the Navy's website and YouTube. Gorham said the videos are popular
and sometimes provide the final push that will help someone make a
call to a recruiter.

"There's definitely a stigma in the recruiting world, some put us in
the same category as a car salesman," he said. "Posting videos allow
us to show what we do and the benefits of it, without cramming it
down their throats. We don't need to do that; the product speaks for itself."

The Navy also uses the social media websites Twitter and Flickr.
Flickr, an online photo sharing website, allows the Navy to show off
the places in the world a recruit may travel if they join.

"Travel is big in the Navy," Gorham said. "By putting pictures on the
website and showing the places we go, that garners a lot of interest."

Gorham said he believes taking advantage of the new technologies has
contributed to the Navy's increases in recruiting numbers over the
last few years, though the economy might also be playing a role.

"I think anytime there's a down economy people look into these
avenues," he said. "They're seeing there's a world of opportunity out
there and look at opportunities they wouldn't normally consider."

The Air Force has also seen an increased interest, meeting or
exceeding its recruitment goals for the last 10 years, according to
Christa D'Andrea, chief of Air Force Public Affairs.

D'Andrea and the recruiters from the National Guard and Navy were
unable to say if recruitment targets will be lowered given troop
drawdowns in Iraq and Afghanistan. But all three branches say their
standards are higher for getting in. They want smart individuals who
are medically qualified and score high on aptitude tests, and the
higher standard hasn't had a negative impact on recruiting.

"Higher qualified people coming in just makes it more competitive,"
D'Andrea said.

Air Force recruiters use their website and other technologies to help
find these qualified people. The branch is trying to expand its
recruitment reach by improving its mobile phone website and creating
an iPhone application, according to Frank Radis, interactive account
executive for airforce.com.

The website airforce.com is the still the strongest recruiting weapon
the military branch has, Radis said.

"On average we have 840,000 visits per month," he said. "It's our
number one source for leads; 80 percent of our leads come from airforce.com."

The website's live chat function is very popular and lets interested
people chat online with a recruiter and ask questions. If the chat
turns into a good lead and the individual is interested in taking the
conversation to the next level, the recruiter will send the chat
transcript to a local recruiter and a face-to-face meeting will be
set up, according to Radis.

Video games also are used to help spread the Air Force message. The
website features several video games where gamers can take part in a
virtual Air Force mission.

"Gaming is huge amongst our demographic, about 70 percent own some
type of gaming system," Radis said. "We build our own games, and it
brings people to our site, and they learn stuff from it."

The Air Force also has plans to put advertising banners in online games.

"We continue to change with technology," D'Andrea said. "When
technology improves, we improve our recruiting."

.

Military recruiters court Cape students

[2 items]

Military recruiters court Cape students

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101107/NEWS/11070326

By Cynthia Mccormick
cmccormick@capecodonline.com
November 07, 2010

Stretched on the floor of Barnstable High School's junior-senior
cafeteria, Will MacPhee was drawing a crowd.

The 18-year-old was attempting to complete 100 pushups under the
watch of Marine Sgt. Joseph Massi, a military recruiter visiting the school.

After 60 pushups, MacPhee paused. His arms and legs were shaking.

"I don't have all day, bro," Massi quipped.

The mood was festive and encouraging.

Students, teachers and even Heinz vendors giving out free cups of
soup clapped and cheered when MacPhee hit the 100 mark.

Another student patted the high school senior on the back and Massi,
in dress uniform, presented MacPhee with a T-shirt that said "pain is
weakness leaving the body."

MacPhee filled out a reply card for more information about the
military service. He said he is "deciding between the Marines and the Army."

Similar scenes have played out in high schools across the Cape and
the country for the past eight years since the No Child Left Behind
Act enacted by Congress granted military recruiters the same access
to students as vocational and college representatives.

Military recruiters meet with students in cafeterias or classrooms
once or several times a year, and they attend college and career
fairs. Schools are required by law to provide the military with
students' names, addresses and phone numbers unless parents choose to
"opt out" of providing the information.

"There were always requests for access" to student information, said
Chatham High School Principal Paul Mangelinkx, whose son Alan did two
tours of duty in Iraq with the Marines straight out of high school.
"But prior to No Child Left Behind we could say no."

Lately, the recruitment tactics have been generating controversy on
the Cape, where a group of peace activists and human rights advocates
plan to hold a meeting next month addressing what they consider the
militarization of the schools.

"What (students) get is propaganda," said Mary Zepernick of the
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, which is hosting
the Dec. 8 meeting with the Barnstable County Human Rights Commission.

High school students hear recruiters talk about the glamour, as well
as job or educational opportunities, connected with the armed forces,
but they receive little or no information about the dangers of combat
and war, Zepernick said.

EMOTIONAL ISSUE

The issue of military recruitment in the schools has simmered for
years, with faculty at Chatham High School and Dennis-Yarmouth
Regional High School succeeding in getting military recruiters
removed from cafeteria areas, where younger students could approach
them, to less public areas of school buildings.

The issue came to a boil at Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School in
June, when two teachers were disciplined after holding an "end war"
sign during an end-of-the-year assembly at which students entering
the military were recognized for their service.

Criticized for encroaching on the students' special moment, history
teacher Marybeth Verani of Cotuit said her intent was to draw
attention to what she sees as a disproportionate military presence at
the high school.

"They're in our building nearly every Wednesday," said Verani, who
was suspended with pay at the end of the school year and for three
days without pay at the beginning of this school year.

"I think this normalizes the military as if it's any other career,"
said Verani, who volunteers with Cape Codders for Peace and Justice.

The issue is an emotional one at D-Y High. Nicholas Xiarhos, a recent
graduate beloved by students and teachers alike, was killed in 2009
while serving with the Marines in Afghanistan. An assistant
principal, George Morrison, is in the National Guard.

Military recruiters from the different branches of the armed services
take turns visiting on Wednesdays, D-Y Principal Kenneth Jenks said
in an interview this summer. The visits are publicized in morning
announcements, and interested students can get a pass to talk to the recruiter.

"We just see it as another model for students after graduation," Jenks said.

Schools can 'opt out'

Some schools interpret the No Child Left Behind Act very liberally,
giving military recruiters more access to students than college or
career representatives, said Sarah Wunsch, staff attorney for the
ACLU of Massachusetts.

If a college is allowed to visit once a year in addition to attending
a college fair, that same level of access should be applied to a
branch of the military, she said.

At Barnstable High School, where colleges visit in the fall and
military recruiters visit in both the fall and spring, for instance,
"they've made a decision to favor those kinds of recruiters," Wunsch said.

The provisions of No Child Left Behind do not apply to private
schools that do not receive federal funding.

Military recruiters do not visit Cape Cod Academy, where "100 percent
of the students attend college," head of school Clark Daggett said this summer.

Another provision of the No Child Left Behind Act requires schools to
give military recruiters students' names, addresses and phone numbers.

Some schools, such as Sturgis Public Charter School, clearly spell
out how parents can "opt out" of having their child's information
given to military recruiters by including a "consent or denial" form
in the student's back-to-school information packet. The form is also
on the Sturgis website.

Barnstable High's opt out policy is harder to spot, being outlined on
Page 18 of the student handbook. It says parents not wanting to
release their child's information to the military should write the
principal a letter by Oct. 1.

Wunsch criticizes the policy. "They should be notified in a very
clear way, not buried in the middle of a handbook," she said.

Sense of belonging

During a recent day at the Marine recruiters headquarters on North
Street in Hyannis, where several branches of the military have
offices, recent recruits talked about their motivation for joining
the military.

They mentioned the sense of belonging to a family and the honor of
serving their country. They talked a lot about educational and job
opportunities. Some had had some college experience ­ one young man
talked about how expensive it was ­ and one young woman had graduated
from Brandeis University.

They were committed to being physically fit, doing training runs with
Sgt. Massi and staying in when other friends went out partying.

At least within a reporter's earshot, they did not discuss the danger
of combat or the stress of repeated deployments, despite the fact
that Matthew Gallant, a 21-year-old Marine lance corporal from the
Cape who was wounded in Afghanistan, had just been quoted in an
Associated Press story that ran in the Times.

"It's not fun," Gallant said of driving on Marjah's roads. "It's
waiting to get blown up again for the most part."

Justine Root, 22, of Orleans, who graduated from Brandeis University
and plans to study crypto-linguistics in the Marines, said she
figures she could get hit by a car jogging. "Do I want to stay here
and be safe in a career I'm not happy with?" she asked.

"People in the civilian world say how could you do this? You could
get killed," Root said.

It is the risk to life and limb in a time of war that distinguishes
careers in the military from other careers, and it's a danger
recruiters gloss over, Verani said.

"I used to stand next to these recruiters (at D-Y) and I heard their
spiel. It was completely devoid of any talk of war."

--------

Marines offer workshops specifically for educators

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101112/OPINION/11120322/-1/rss17

November 12, 2010

Regarding your Nov. 7 story "Targets of opportunity" about military
recruitment activities in the Cape's high schools, I had the
opportunity to attend the Marine Corps' Educator's Workshop as a
media professional this past April. It was a tremendous experience
that I highly recommend to anyone with an interest in the military
and the Marine Corps in particular.

The Marines welcome all educators to attend, whether they support or
oppose the military. The workshop leaders strongly encouraged
attendees to ask questions at any time and were willing to listen to
all viewpoints.

Our group included several educators who had negative perceptions
about the military. Fortunately, all attendees came to the workshop
with an open mind and a lot of enthusiasm for the program.

At the conclusion of this intensive four-day workshop, all had a new
respect for the Marine Corps and the brave and highly motivated young
men and women who choose to join it.

I encourage Cape educators to attend a future workshop so they can
see for themselves what the Marine Corps is all about. They can
contact the U.S. Marine Corps Recruitment Station in Plymouth at
508-746-6433 to learn more about the program.

Polly Papsadore
Sandwich

.

Teens served beer, rum inside area military recruiter's office

Teens served beer, rum inside area military recruiter's office

http://www.toledoonthemove.com/news/story.aspx?id=538159

by Amulya Raghuveer
Posted: 11.09.2010

SANDUSKY, OHIO -- A Navy recruiter has pleaded no contest after
authorities say he served alcohol to teenagers inside his Sandusky
military recruitment office.

Justin R. Szadkowski, 24, is charged with one misdemeanor count of
furnishing alcohol to underage persons. He plead no contest to the
charge on Monday, Nov. 1.

Authorities allege Szadkowski served beer and rum to three potential
recruits, ages 18 and 19, while inside the West Perkins Avenue
recruiting office on the night of Oct. 28. Police noticed three women
and one man walking away from the office after discovering beer and
rum inside. After being questioned, three of the four individuals
were found to have been drinking.

Macy Christiansen, 18; Kayla Robinson, 19; and J. Nicholas Uhl, 19,
were all arrested and charged with underage alcohol
consumption. Police say the three admitted to being inside
Szadkowski's office drinking with the recruiter after he supplied
them with the alcohol.

Szadkowski admitted to police that he purchased beer for the teens at
a nearby gas station, stating that he played video games inside the
office while the teens drank. However, a breathalyzer test showed
Szadkowski's blood-alcohol content to be 0.02 percent at the time of
the incident.

The recruiter is set to be sentenced in Sandusky Municipal Court on Tuesday.

.

Guard recruiter admits fraud in collecting bonuses

Guard recruiter admits fraud in collecting bonuses

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-mi-guardrecruiters-f,0,1291423.story

November 6, 2010

HOLLAND, Mich. ­

An Army National Guard recruiter has pleaded guilty to conspiracy for
collecting a share of recruiting bonuses he was ineligible for.

The Grand Rapids Press reports Staff Sgt. Sergio Reyes of Fennsville
pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy to defraud the government. U.S.
District Judge Robert Holmes Bell signaled Reyes might facing prison
time, telling him to get his affairs in order before his Feb. 10 sentencing.

Reyes told Bell that he referred recruits through other National
Guard members eligible for bonuses and received a share of $21,000 in bonuses.

As part of a plea agreement, 21 wire fraud charges will be dismissed.

Court records show a second recruiter, Staff Sgt. Mark Hagan, is
scheduled to enter a plea next week. He and Reyes worked in the
Holland recruiting office.

.

Brain-damaged, traumatized troops routinely deployed, vets group says

Brain-damaged, traumatized troops routinely deployed, vets group says

http://newmexicoindependent.com/66860/brain-damaged-traumatized-troops-routinely-deployed-vets-group-says

By Bryant Furlow
11/11/10

Asked about his Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms,
Joseph Callan paused, his gaze momentarily distant.

"I see dead people," he said, scoffing quietly.

"In crowds, I'll think, 'that's Howzer!' or somebody else," the
former U.S. Marine Corps sergeant explained. "I know they're dead. I
saw them dead. But I feel compelled to confirm it's not them, to see
them from another angle. So I'm ducking through a crowd to get
another look at them and it's always just some random (person)."

Callan, now 32, joined the Marines when he was 18 years old, he told
The Independent.

Surrounded by college students at an Albuquerque coffee shop near
UNM, the great-grandson of a Navajo code talker and regional
organizer for Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) ticked off the
other manifestations of his three combat tours in Iraq.

"Self-medication, alcohol mostly," he said. "Short temper ­ angry all
the time. And not caring. Just not caring. This detachment. That's
why school didn't work out for me, I think. I just didn't care. …And
I'm reckless. I ride my motorcycle faster than I should."

"I never stop thinking about Iraq," Callen said. "It's a constant
presence. It's always there."

Throughout the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, troops with
combat-related traumatic brain injuries, called TBIs, or PTSD
symptoms have routinely faced multiple deployments, Callan said.

"After the initial invasion, just about everybody I knew exhibited
signs of PTSD – and we were all redeployed," he recalled. "The Army
and Marine Corps just needed warm bodies to stuff into slots. I've
seen guys deploy with arms in casts. I saw (a Marine) deploy on crutches."

Now, as a field organizer for IVAW, Callan wants to see an end to the
practice of deploying troops with combat trauma. The organization's
"Operation Recovery" is a push to force the Pentagon to obey its own
directive against deploying troops with PTSD, Callan said.

"These troops have a right to heal," he said. "It's inhumane and an
awful practice to take somebody who is damaged and put them back in
the environment that damaged them. They're human beings. They break
like regular humans."

Some Marines who sought help were told they had to choose between
"remaining deployable" and a "less than honorable discharge," Callan said.

Callan is taking his message on the road, speaking throughout
Washington, Oregon and California this and next week.

Multiple combat tours for brain-injured vets widespread, Army doc says

Multiple deployments for brain-injured and traumatized troops have
been a common problem throughout the conflicts in Iraq and
Afghanistan, according to Remington Nevin, a U.S. Army physician and
epidemiologist.

Nevin spoke with The Independent in a series of interviews early this
year ­ before being ordered to stop speaking with the news media.
Nevin has studied deployment rates for soldiers with mental health diagnoses.

Military medical experts warned the Pentagon the planned 2007 "surge"
in Iraq would re-expose so many already-traumatized active duty
troops to new brain injuries and trauma that it would likely "break
the Army," Nevin said.

"Those soldiers are broken now," Nevin said. "Repeated brain injuries
or repeated exposure to traumatic events for a soldier with PTSD
makes those problems much harder to treat. … The point of military
public health is to avoid harm. For many of these guys, it's too late now."

Many military doctors strongly suspect repeated combat trauma is
behind record-high suicide rates among soldiers, Nevin and an Army
Medicine source, who asked not to be identified, both told The
Independent early this year.

Officially, the Army denies that. An internal study confirming that
combat unit deployments were a significant risk factor for suicide
was declared a "political hot potato" by a high-ranking official and
sent back for re-analysis. After unspecified statistical adjustments,
the correlation between suicide and combat duty disappeared,
according to an April 2010 Army suicide report.

A public Army report blames risky behavior and substance abuse for
the soldier suicide epidemic ­ but those are signs of PTSD, Callan
was quick to point out.

The Pentagon knew of the redeployment problem as early as 2004,
records show, and officials fretted that brain injuries from roadside
bombs would become the "Gulf War Syndrome" of the Iraq war. It took
more than three years to add blast trauma questions to soldiers'
post-deployment health assessments.

At least 74,000 troops' post-deployment health assessments have gone
missing, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

'We shot anything that moved'

During Callan's second deployment to Iraq, in 2004, his vehicles were
hit by roadside bombs three times, and he was within the "impact
area" of another four.

"My platoon was hit 25 times," he said. "That was just in the second
deployment. Platoons like mine were called 'suicide squads' because
we drove un-up-armored LAVs. … We literally shot anything that moved."

Callan saw Iraqi civilians accidentally killed by U.S. forces, he acknowledged.

"If you smoke a guy kicking in your back door at night, you're not
going to have PTSD," Callan told The Independent. "But if you shoot
somebody and it turns out to be a guy checking your water meter,
you're probably going to be fucked up."

After his second tour, Callan's PTSD symptoms were worse – but he
still was not diagnosed with PTSD, which would have disqualified him
for another combat tour.

Instead, a military doctor diagnosed him with "chronic stress,"
Callan told The Independent. Callan was told to take Benadryl to help
with insomnia, but frequently turned to alcohol instead.

Callan was finally diagnosed with PTSD by the Veterans Administration
(VA), only after he had left the Marine Corps.

Once diagnosed, Callan found it a challenge to get help.

He called the state veterans hotline for help, but nobody answered or
called him back, he said. The VA in Albuquerque offered medication
and counseling classes, but those classes are only offered during
business hours, he said ­ making it difficult to keep a regular job.
(VA officials could not be reached for comment Thursday because VA
offices were closed for Veterans' Day.)

PTSD is not just a 'military problem'

Between 350,000 and 900,000 troops who have served in Iraq or
Afghanistan have PTSD, according to IVAW. And an estimated 12 percent
of deployed troops are taking prescription psychiatric medications.

"It's dangerous for other soldiers," Callan said. "It's not safe for
troops who depend on those kids. … They're not 100 percent alert.
What are you supposed to do?"

Veterans are often marginalized and ignored, and many people don't
appreciate how war trauma diffuses throughout the communities to
which they return.

"There are veterans everywhere," Callan said. "The pain and the
violence spreads throughout our communities, across the country.
That's what people don't get. Even if it's 20 years until they
retire, eventually we all move out and return home to our
communities. And we're bringing home that violence and PTSD with us."

Politicians wouldn't meet with IVAW volunteers earlier this month to
discuss deployments of traumatized vets, Callan said.

Instead, the group is attempting to build a movement within the
military against the practice, he said.

That won't be easy, Callan acknowledged.

"Peace activists are just below bin Laden in the military, in terms
of who the enemy is," Callan said. "It's already illegal to redeploy
PTSD-diagnosed troops but they do it all the (expletive) time. A
directive already exists saying those troops cannot be deployed (again)."

For more information about Operation Recovery, visit the IVAW website.
http://www.ivaw.org/operation-recovery

.

Doctors to overweight military recruits: go veg

Doctors to overweight military recruits: go veg

http://www.thisdishisvegetarian.com/2010/11/1040doctors-to-overweight-military.html

11/01/2010
by Teresa Abbate

America's obesity epidemic impacts not just the health of the average
citizen; it's also a major health issue in potential military recruits.

A recent study by Mission: Readiness found that more than 27% of
Americans between the ages of 17 and 24 fail to qualify for military
service because they are overweight or obese- it is the leading
reason why possible candidates are turned down. A similar study by
Cornell University also found that obesity costs the U.S. military
billions of dollars in health care spending and is linked to poor performance.

The best way to combat this, according to the non-profit group
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), is to encourage
recruits to go veg.

PCRM has offered to send vegetarian starter kits to recruiting
centers to distribute to potential candidates who might not be
enlisted because of their health- an approach, PCRM believes, will
promote weight loss in heavier recruits as well as reduce health care
costs for the military. The kits offer advice on how to change
regular meals into low-fat vegetarian ones and how to maintain a
healthy weight.

"It is not too late for the overweight young people showing up at
your recruiting stations," PCRM nutrition education director Susan
Levin, M.S., R.D., writes in a letter to Admiral Mike Mullen,
http://www.pcrm.org/news/documents/LettertoAdmiralMikeMullen.pdf
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "Instead of turning away a
quarter of your potential recruits because they are too heavy, why
not arm them with information on how to improve their health? Then
schedule them for a return visit at a later date."

Knowledge is power; the more people know about the benefits of a
vegetarian diet, the more we can tackle the obesity problem!

.