Article "Hastings on nonviolence: Feel a draft=?UTF-8?B?PyI=?=

Hastings on nonviolence: Feel a draft?

It was 38 years ago today that the draft ended and it hasn't come back,
but its shadow looms across the American bad memory landscape, only
dying out as my generation passes on and the baby boomers lose their
boom. Why did it end, why did it start, and why isn't it back, since we
are in a couple of wars now with more threatening?

The draft ended because civil society had grown to despise it. When the
citizenry finally comes to despise something, elected officials
eventually get it and act, often because enough of the unresponsive ones
are defeated in elections. The rest begin to understand that a shift in
public attitude makes it adaptive for them to shift too. The US history
of the draft--and the resistance to it--is complicated and shocking in
some cases.

The draft during the Civil War was a lightning rod issue for both class
and race and the parties were not what we might assume from our notions
of what parties stand for today in the minds of many.

Democrats were "antiwar," but like so many who call themselves antiwar,
they were anti this war, not pacifists at all. Indeed, in the early
1860s they often referred to the war of secession as the "
nigger war
." They stoked the fears of poor whites, warning that if Lincoln, that
meddlesome Republican, managed to free the slaves, the north would be
flooded with free blacks who would take all the factory jobs and all the
unskilled or low-skilled work, replacing the immigrants from Ireland and
elsewhere. When Lincoln pushed through a stronger draft law, poor whites
rioted in New York City in what were really race riots but which are
known as draft riots. Eleven black men were lynched during the five days
of rioting, starting on the Monday morning, 13 July 1863, after the
draft lottery began.

Huge crowds of white men beat blacks, white owners of businesses that
served the black community, abolitionists, black women and they even
burned the black orphanage, though they did permit the 233 children to
escape. Fear of job loss fanned by inflammatory rhetoric and the most
uncivil public dialog produced a chapter so ugly in the history of New
York and America that it is not a big feature in most school history
texts. It should be.

America had accepted the draft after Pearl Harbor, even though the
threats from Nazi Germany had allowed Congress to pass the
Selective Training and Service Act of 1940
, the first peacetime draft in US history.
Dave Dellinger
and some other nonviolent men from the Union Theological Seminary openly
resisted that, refused to register, and were sent to prison.

In a complete reversal of the racist draft riots of 1863, the World War
II pacifists who served prison time organized against segregation in the
prisons and succeeded in changing federal prison policy, achieving
desegregation in some prisons before it would be achieved 15-20 years
later in "free" society around those prisons in the South.

Draft resistance in Vietnam was sketchy at first and pandemic near the
end. January 27 is a satisfying date to recall that end to involuntary
servitude. The resistance to that draft in that war was
complex
and ranged from the stupidest (which, as a boy of 17 in 1968, I almost
did, until I finally came in contact with the draft resistance
movement), which was to enlist in one branch of the armed forces in
order to avoid going to Vietnam, to the most principled, which was to
publicly burn one's draft card and head off to prison. There were many
shades of response, from the Bill Clinton model (stay in school long
enough to remain exempt from the fighting) to the Ben Spock/Dave
Dellinger model (even if you are not of draft age, you commit nonviolent
civil resistance to it and risk imprisonment) and everything in between.

By the time it finally ended, US civil society opposed it and the
generals and politicians learned to avoid it at all costs. They are the
new draft resisters, using other methods to conscript nowadays. They
love it when the economy tanks and young people are desperate for GI
benefits, a job, and even housing. It's the Darth Vader approach: Luke,
come over to the dark side. Young people, boxed in, see one way out as
the recruiters shine bright lights on their option. It's not called a
draft now, but it is a defacto poverty draft and I look forward to the
day that ends. I hope we can all join in working to create other
attractive options for our youth or we will continue our slide toward a
militarized culture. Meanwhile, a moment to honor the end of the draft
on this day in 1973. May it never come again.
References
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/317749.html

--
http://hastingsnonviolence.blogspot.com/2011/01/feel-draft.html
Via InstaFetch

Article "Joe Mirabella: Just Say No to ROTC On College Campuses"

Just Say No to ROTC On College Campuses

Last night, President Obama acknowledged that gays and lesbians will
serve openly in the armed forces this year thanks to last year's repeal
of the so called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law. In exchange, the President
has asked the college campuses and universities that banned the ROTC
from recruiting on their campuses to let them return. I respectfully
disagree.

Colleges and universities should focus all their energy on preserving
the lives of their students, and students throughout the world. They
should be harbors of peace, not war. Students should never have to face
down a recruiter in the cafeteria, or outside class. No, there are
better ways.

College is expensive, and becoming more expensive every year as states
slash their budgets, and as our federal government diverts trillions to
war. The military actively preys upon the poor and disadvantaged with
the offer of a better future through the GI bill. They are common in
high school cafeterias and college campuses as students struggle to stay
afloat. There is no greater predatory practice on our youth than the
ROTC.

Instead, we should invest in more peaceful solutions to students, like
the Peace Corps, AmeriaCorps, tuition reimbursement programs for
educators, scholarships, grants, and more. We should create additional
opportunities for students, opportunities that do not involve the
perpetuation of the military industrial complex, but provide
opportunities for students to help rebuild America.

Yes, Mr. President, we should end the divisiveness of the past. I was
proud to be present when you signed the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't
Tell," but that does not mean I'm prepared to see more young men and
women die for war.

Universities used to ban the ROTC because they discriminated against
gays and lesbians. Today, they still have a noble reason to keep the
ROTC out; because no student should be put in harms way in the name of
our current wars.

For those schools who do follow the President's request, they should
require all ROTC recruiters to be accompanied by someone who is expert
on other choices. Students, gay and straight, should receive a full
picture of their future, not just one that leads them down a road
towards war.

Follow Joe Mirabella on Twitter:  www.twitter.com/joemirabella

--
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-mirabella/just-say-no-to-rotc-on-co_b_814055.html
Via InstaFetch

Article "The Pentagon Has A File On Your Kid — Rolling Meadows news, photos and events — TribLocal.com"

The Pentagon Has A File On Your Kid — Rolling Meadows news, photos and
events — TribLocal.com

You think we're kidding, don't you. We're not. The Joint Advertising
Marketing Research and Studies (JAMRS) database is a vast data
repository created by the Pentagon to selectively target young people
for military recruitment. Information is gathered from schools, the
Department of Motor Vehicles, Selective Service, surveys, websites, and
private data brokers. The Northwest Suburban Peace & Education Project
would like high school students and their parents to have a way to
opt-out of this process should they so choose. Join us in an educational
event on the topic:

--
http://triblocal.com/rolling-meadows/calendar/2011/02/10/the-pentagon-has-a-file-on-your-kid/
Via InstaFetch

Article "http://www.baycitizen.org/education/story/revelation-rotc-classes-stanford-debate/"

Revelation of ROTC Classes on Stanford Campus Casts Debate in New Light

When the Faculty Senate at Stanford University began to examine the
possible return of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps to campus last
year, the discussion was assumed to be purely hypothetical. Phased out
from campus in 1973 amid anti-war sentiment, ROTC was thought to be a
strictly off-campus option for Stanford students who still wanted to
participate in the program.

Recent developments, however, reveal that the university reintroduced
not-for-credit ROTC classes back to campus more than a decade ago,
unbeknownst to most faculty and students. The classes, part of Santa
Clara University’s Army ROTC program, have been taught on campus since
1997.

The revelation of ROTC classes on campus comes at a crucial juncture. In
March, Stanford’s Faculty Senate discussed the university’s current
relationship with the armed services’ programs and appointed an ad hoc
committee to further investigate the case for ROTC’s reinstatement.

At the time, no mention was made of the on-campus ROTC courses, which
allow freshman and sophomore Army ROTC cadets to complete some of their
military education in Stanford facilities.

“It appears most faculty weren’t aware of this,” said Todd Davies, a
Stanford lecturer. “It seems it would have been a natural thing [for the
committee] to mention as Stanford’s current relationship with ROTC,
instead of saying that students go off-campus.”

The ROTC was ousted from Stanford at the height of vitriolic sentiment
against the Vietnam War, as parts of the academic community objected to
the nation’s presence in Southeast Asia and protested against the
university’s military ties. Since then, decades have dulled the ROTC
discussion, with the university and the armed forces showing little
impetus to re-establish ROTC units at Stanford.

According to a university press release published this month, however,
administrators have allowed informal ROTC classes to take place in
Stanford facilities since 1997. Stanford’s registrar didn’t begin
explicitly listing the classes as on-campus activities in the official
university class catalog until the 2002-2003 academic year.

“I don't know how long this practice has been going on, and I don't know
who approved the practice originally,” wrote Vice Provost of Student
Affairs Greg Boardman in an e-mail to The Bay Citizen. Boardman is also
a member of the 10-person ad hoc committee on ROTC.

“While the information is indeed in the Stanford Bulletin, it is not our
practice to normally monitor how a space is used after it is reserved,”
he continued.

Today, as the debate over reintroducing ROTC units at schools like
Stanford and Harvard resurfaces, the exposure of Stanford’s on-campus
ties with the Army training program has surprised some observers.
History Professor Barton Bernstein said that he had assumed that no
on-campus ties had existed with ROTC and pressed the ad hoc committee on
the issue at a recent meeting.

Stanford Psychology Professor and committee chairman Ewart Thomas,
however, said the Army ROTC classes were “no issue.” Thomas, who had
also learned of the on-campus courses this month, noted that the
classes’ small size could explain how they proceeded without the notice
of Stanford’s greater community.

Army Reserve Capt. Joseph McConnell, a Stanford Graduate School of
Business student who teaches the on-campus Army ROTC course, agreed.

“It’s not well-known at all. The population of Stanford students that
know we’re actually doing this is extremely minimal,” he said. The
on-campus classes, for freshman and sophomore Army cadets only, serve
just two of the 14 undergraduates on ROTC scholarships.

The Stanford registrar’s office denied several requests for interviews,
but did release a statement saying that the university is “not
officially involved in teaching ROTC courses on campus.”

Capt. Kent Keirsey, a joint law and MBA student at Stanford, said that
the on-campus classes persisted as a convenience for freshman and
sophomore cadets who lacked transportation to Santa Clara University.
Stanford students in the Army ROTC program currently fulfill most of
their training and education duties at Santa Clara, which, unlike
Stanford, provides course credit for its students enrolled in the ROTC.

Keirsey, who has taught the courses since 2009, stated that the classes
focused on the “basics,” ranging from tactics to the “values and
philosophy” of the U.S. Army. Still, he was skeptical of whether the
on-campus course constituted much of a foothold for ROTC at Stanford.

But fellow ROTC instructor Capt. Jim Wilson felt that the on-campus
classes could strengthen the case for ROTC at a time when the university
is looking to re-engage with the armed services.

“The question is if ROTC should come back to Stanford, but in many ways
ROTC is already here,” he said. “We teach ROTC cadets on campus and [the
University allows] us to schedule rooms.”

--
http://www.baycitizen.org/education/story/revelation-rotc-classes-stanford-debate/?utm_source=The+Bay+Citizen+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=01a19c561c-Jan_27_Daily_Newsletter&utm_medium=email
Via InstaFetch

The love that dare not speak its name in the army

[Please note date!]

The love that dare not speak its name in the army

http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/1557

Clara Fraser
April 1993

I have never been able to fully grasp the hatred and terror that
certain whites display towards human beings of other skin colors.

Nor have I ever really fathomed the brutishness of so many males towards women.

And I am always appalled by the hysteria of deranged straights on the
matter of homosexuality.

Sure, I understand­I hope­the economic and social roots of these
maladies. The cause lies in the history. Still and all, unreasoning
bias continues to astound me, perhaps because nothing in my
experience leads any credence to the garbage spewed by bigots.

Most of my best friends, for example, are gay. In 70 crowded years of
meeting people, I've never encountered a group with such a high
degree of creativity, talent, intelligence, wit, literacy, social
sensitivity, compassion, good humor, and capacity for commitment. And
all of this together spells leadership.

The differently sexualized are less wedded to the sick popular
culture and more attuned to reality. They tend to be respecters of
persons and easy collaborators. They warrant your trust, and I trust
my life to my lesbian and gay cohorts­at home, at hostile meetings,
in dangerous demonstrations and on picket line eruptions.

I would totally trust my life to them in the army.

And I would run like hell from the queer-bashers and forked-tongued
demagogues that this society spawns. That is why I think nothing less
than sweeping revolution is demanded­or how else can we carve out the
new cultural environment and psycho-sexual services capable of
rehabilitating the Rambo-ite, fundamentalist pathologicals?

But meanwhile there is much to be learned from the tempest over gays
in the armed forces. The uproar reveals three aspects of the sexual
minorities issue that have nothing to do with prejudice and
everything to do with establishment politics, military depravity, and
the pivotal place of the traditional monogamous family in the
machinery of capitalism.

1. Will open gays endanger "national security"? Let's hope so.

The generals argue that their bailiwicks were never designed to be
conductors of social change. Indeed not.

The military juggernaut exists to protect the "American way of
life"­which depends on bitter feuding among workers. What's good for
General Motors is very, very bad for non-males, non-whites,
non-Christians, non-citizens and other non-is isms­classism, sexism,
racism, ageism, heterosexism. And the business of the armed services
is defending big business.

Proletarian solidarity is verboten. It is dangerous to officers and
orders. And now that Blacks and women are entrenched in the ranks,
somebody has to remain excluded or inferior or segregated.

What's more, expanded rights tend to make the execrated more uppity.
Will lesbians and gays rest content with the magnanimous cessation of
witch hunts? Will they emerge from battleship brigs and closets
quietly? Or will they protest against unjust and unneeded wars? Or
maybe demand the right to elect their own officers, á la Trotsky's
Red Army after the 1917 Russian Revolution? And what will happen when
these newly empowered vets come marching home?

The lavender menace that terrifies skittish politicos is a
beautifully clear and present danger to the fraying fabric of Amerikkka.

2. It's the military that's sick and perverted.

Gay people aren't the ones with a deviant, illegitimate, immoral
lifestyle. The military establishment is the body with the disease,
and its name is sexual fascism.

Army culture cements a male bonding based on shared misogyny and
race-hate. Basic training relies on humiliating the raw recruit by
calling him a pussy or girlie. Platoon spirit is buoyed by chanting
jingoistic jingles about the racial/physical traits of the enemy.

Servicemen are indoctrinated to scorn open gays who won't endorse
their view of women as hunks of meat, rape objects, and practice toys
for sadism. Straight male GI's are terrified that gay men will treat
them the way themselves treat women. Out lesbians are despised
because they refuse to be part of the victim reservoir.

Yes, sexual marauding is intrinsic to the military, part and parcel
of its climate of imperialist violence.

But if the institution is so evil, why should gays strive to be in
it? Because it is their simple right not to be discriminated against.
And because some of those gals and guys are equalitarians who want to
be in the trenches besides their workingclass sisters and brothers in
order to better challenge the Pentagon, not promote it.

More pollution exists­in the stance of the warmongers. And gays are
the uncontaminated troops destined to clean out the stables.

3. Lesbians and gays are oppressed because they threaten the forced
maintenance of the fissioning nuclear family

It goes like this: The system extracts super-profits from the unpaid
or vastly underpaid labor of women. And the patriarchal, male-headed
family is the conduit from this rip-off.

A vast superstructure keeps fracturing families mortared together,
despite widespread misery and repression in the home. Alternative
ways of living are a Bad Influence, especially as practiced by
lesbians­so bachelordom is chic, but old maidhood is always pathetic,
and lesbians are kicked out of the services six to ten times as often
as gay men. Yet the number of lesbians is growing, partly because
hetero relations today are unappetizing. The arrogance and
boorishness of typical male egos eventually repel self-respecting women.

Both genders have every right to claim a sexual mode that is less
dangerous and irritating and more sensually fulfilling, more
democratic and more supportive of integrity and activism, more
respectful of motherhood and childhood, and more feminist.

Face it, globo-cops: the values of the Victorian hearth are falling
into the ashbin of history. Alternative mores are filling the vacuum.
Cultural pluralism on the family front is truly, delightfully subversive!

A new day is dawning. Homosexual rights are big-media covers stories.
Gays are scaling unaccustomed heights of power. The polymorphously
perverse are packing up in droves for the giant April 25 March on
Washington. They gay community, with a renewed life-energy propelled
by AIDS and the spectre of death, is politicized and afire. The
battle against the troglodytes is joined.

But this expanded confidence needs all the radical vision and
audacity it can muster, because our new Prez is as treacherous on
civil rights as he is on the economy, stupid*, and austerity and
dashed hopes will be the sole rewards for his misguided supporters.

The message for labor and all civil rights and civil liberties
movements: Insist on gay rights now. Forge a united front against the
tyranny of the homophobes. Protest compromises and stalls and the
"practical-politics" betrayals of the so-called liberals. And ask not
for whom the presidential sellout is being prepared, for the answer is you.

Don't you see? Sexual liberation will never be tolerated by a market,
dog eat dog, cannibalistic economy. Free love can flourish only in a
caste-free and thereby a hate-free community of equal and autonomous
humans, who will bypass the nature/nurture niggling and serenely
proclaim their affectional choices free of any pressure to vindicate
their delicate, personal decisions to anybody.

The only antidote to sexual fascism is socialist democracy. The only
road to gay freedom is a universal, across-the-board, non-exploitive
family of earthlings. Gay Pride shall ring out when the human race as
a whole becomes proud of itself.
--

*A much publicized sign in Clinton campaign headquarters read, "It's
the economy, stupid."

.

Oregon National Guard raises bar for recruits

Oregon National Guard raises bar for recruits

http://www.eastoregonian.com/news/article_b1bb8312-214a-11e0-86fd-001cc4c002e0.html

With full ranks, guard requires higher test scores

January 16, 2011
By SAMANTHA TIPLER

The demand for a spot in the Oregon National Guard has gone up so
much, the reserve soldier program has had to raise its standards of
who to admit.

And in Eastern Oregon, where more than 40 percent of armed forces
recruits pick the National Guard as their branch of service, the
higher standard means fewer soldiers are being brought into its ranks.

The big change happened two years ago, said Col. Alaine Encabo, the
Oregon guard's recruiting and retention commander.

Each person entering a branch of the military must take the Armed
Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test. It's like an SAT
for the military.

Before, a recruit needed to score a 31 percent on the ASVAB to get
into the Oregon National Guard. Starting in 2009, Encabo said, that
minimum raised to a 50.

Now, 78 percent of recruits score a 50 percent or higher on the
ASVAB, said Sgt. Major Kevin Cutting, who also works in the Salem
recruiting office with Encabo.

Two years ago, only 64 percent scored better than 50 on the ASVAB.

Also, the majority of the guard's soldiers are high school graduates.
Only about 10 are GED holders. Three years ago, GED holders made up
about 30 percent of recruits.

"The bars are being set higher because there's a lot of interest in
joining the Oregon National Guard and the National Guard throughout
the country," Encabo said. "Everybody is now competing for less
spaces. The bar is set higher. In a general mass of population, now
only the best gets in."

While the National Guard changed its criteria two years ago, Cutter
said he has seen other full-time branches change their requirements
on a month-to-month basis, depending on what kind of numbers they
need to bring in.

The guard's criteria changed two years ago because the guard was
"over strength," Cutter said, with too many soldiers enlisted.

The Oregon National Guard now has 6,600 people ­ and technically
that's still too many. Officially it only needs 6,400.

But, Encabo said, because the Oregon guard is pulling in quality
recruits, the national office is allowing the 200 extra.

Part of this is because guard members aren't leaving the service.

"Retention is better in the last few years," Cutter said. "People
stay in the guard because of the economic benefit."

On a more local level, Sgt. First Class Dan Agenbroad has seen his
required recruiting numbers decrease. Agenbroad was a recruiter in
Hermiston in 2006 and has since shifted his attention to Pendleton.

Two years ago he was required to recruit about 16 to 18 people a
year. Now that number has dropped to 12.

Agenbroad sees his job as a salesman.

"I try not to push. I try to recruit by talking to them
individually," he said. "I find out what they want to do in life and
how they can benefit from the guard."

Sometimes a person comes into the recruiting office and it's a "slam
dunk." He or she scores well on the ASVAB and completes the physical
requirements no problem. It's just a matter of getting him or her
through the process.

That doesn't happen often, Agenbroad said.

If someone does badly on the ASVAB, he or she can retake it. The
first three times the person must wait 30 days in between. Then they
have to wait six months for the next two tries, than a year.
Agenbroad said he's never had someone wait a year.

Physical requirements can also be worked on.

A man must complete 13 push-ups and 17 sit-ups, each in a one-minute
time period, and run a mile in 8 minutes, 30 seconds.

A woman must complete three push-ups, 17 sit-ups and run a mile in 10
minutes, 30 seconds.

Agenbroad has gone so far as to work out with a potential recruit to
get him or her in good enough shape to pass the test. He said he's
had more trouble getting people to meet the height/weight requirement.

For instance, a 5-foot-9-inch tall man must weigh at least 128 pounds
and no more than 184 to 193 pounds, depending on his age.

Like meeting the physical requirement, Agenbroad said it's often a
matter of exercise. Sometimes it just means getting off the couch.

Pendleton has a bit of hometown pride. With three units based here,
the National Guard is a presence seen regularly in town.

Agenbroad said he often has recruits who have had a friend or family
member in the guard.

Cutter has seen Pendleton's preference for the guard in raw numbers.

The National Guard calculates a "market share" of its recruits around
Oregon. That means for all the people recruited into the armed
forces, a certain percent choose the National Guard.

Between Oct. 2006 and July 2007, the years Cutter did the study,
Pendleton had the highest market share in the state: 43 percent
joined the National Guard. Hermiston followed closely behind, with 41
percent. La Grande had 37 percent.

By comparison, Gresham had only 18.8 percent join the guard.

"Eastern Oregon is definitely guard friendly," Cutter said.

.

U.S. Army Waiting List Near Record Levels

U.S. Army Waiting List Near Record Levels With High Unemployment, GI Bill

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-army-waiting-list-record-levels-high-unemployment/story?id=12495054

U.S. Armed Forces Reduce Recruitment Target Even as Demand Increases

By HUMA KHAN
WASHINGTON, Dec. 29, 2010

Young Americans looking to join the armed forces may have to wait to serve.

The combination of lower recruitment target numbers, a weak economy
and the implementation of the GI bill has made waiting lists,
officially known as the Delayed Entry Pool, longer than they have
been in recent years.

The Marine Corps, which has traditionally had a smaller recruiting
base, has fulfilled more than 65 percent of its target for fiscal
year 2011. The Army entered the new recruiting year in October having
fulfilled 50 percent, or half its targeting goals for next year.

The number is a near record for the Army. The last time in recent
decades the waiting list was so long was 1996, when the Delayed Entry
Pool was at 42.9 percent at the start of the fiscal year.

In recent years, the Army lowered standards to boost recruitment,
including allowing those with low test scores and even criminal
records to join. But after years of such incentives and hefty
bonuses, recruitment interest has not only surged but the quality of
Americans who have expressed interest has improved considerably.

For the first time since fiscal year 1992, nearly all of the Army
recruits -- 99.9 percent -- in fiscal year 2010 were high school graduates.

"It's a great time for us. We're very pleased with the way things are
going. The characteristics of the people we're recruiting are near
all time highs," Maj. Douglas Smith, spokesman for the Army
recruitment command at Ft. Knox, Ky., told ABC News.

The higher number of high school graduates "was a good sign and we
have been able to restrict the number of waivers we give for conduct,
so that's been an improvement as well," he said.

A number of factors are behind the surging numbers. The military has
cut back recruitment goals across the board. The Army target, for
example, for the fiscal year 2011 is 67,000, lower than 74,500 in
2010 and well below the average recruitment goal of 80,000 between
2005 and 2008.

The economy also plays a crucial part. Unemployment remains
relatively high at 9.8 percent, the same level as last year, and
among 18-to-24-year-olds -- the Pentagon's prime recruiting age --
it's even higher.

Officials admit that unemployment has led more volunteers to visit
recruitment centers, but caution that it's only part of the equation.

U.S. Military Recruitment Surges

"Our economy has something to do with this, but not everything," Col.
David Lapan, deputy assistance secretary of defense for media
operations, said at a briefing in October. "A lot of people would
think that, as we look at where we are right now in terms of the
challenges facing us, it's more to it than the economy."

The post-9/11 GI Bill has also created a new incentive for young men
and women to join the armed forces. Passed last year, the bill pays
for education and housing for family and service members who have
served at least 90 days and were honorably discharged.

"The post-9/11 GI Bill has made a big difference in United States
Army recruiting, as I look and talk to our noncommissioned officers
and our officers who are out providing the strength for the Army
every day," said Maj. Gen. Donald M. Campbell, Jr., commanding
general of the U.S. Army recruiting command.

With more Americans eager to sign up to serve, what new recruits
shouldn't expect to see are the hefty bonuses that their predecessors
were promised as an added incentive. In fiscal year 2010, average
bonuses dropped to $5,900 for those with no prior military service,
considerably lower than $13,300 in 2009 and $18,300 in 2008.

The Senate Appropriations Committee also slashed about $500 million
out of the recruiting and reenlistment bonuses.

Fiscal year 2009 was the first time since the military became an
all-volunteer force in 1973 that all the services met their goals for
both numbers and quality of recruits in the 12 months ending Sept. 30.

Waiting lists for recruits are not a new phenomenon, but how long the
list and the wait is has varied over the years.

Delayed Entry Pools usually depend on the availability of the recruit
or the availability of a training slot. The size of the military
services is set in stone, so they can't bring in more people than
they're authorized, so in many cases, recruits have to wait for the
slots to open up.

.

Service branches overcoming odds to fill ranks

Service branches overcoming odds to fill ranks

http://warnerrobinspatriot.com/bookmark/10787317-Service-branches-overcoming-odds-to-fill-ranks

by GENE RECTOR
Dec 26, 2010

Yes, the sagging economy makes a difference and the anemic job market
sparks interest. But the nation's armed forces still have to overcome
significant obstacles to fill their ranks with qualified recruits.

Physical fitness is one debilitating factor. A group known as
Mission: Readiness reports that 27 percent of all Americans ages 17
to 24 are too fat to join the military. Another agency, The Education
Trust, indicated last week that 23 percent of recent high school
graduates were unable to score high enough on enlistment tests to
qualify. Other disqualifiers are drug use and criminal activity.

Yet despite those factors, recruitment is meeting expectations.
During October and November, the Defense Department reported that all
recruiting goals were met except for accessions to the Air National Guard.

Each of the four active duty branches met or exceeded recruiting
goals. According to an American Forces Press Service release, the
Army signed 14,108 for the two months while the Air Force posted
4,785. The Navy recruited 4,807 and the Marines 4,447.

Five of six reserve components also met recruiting goals with the
Marine Corps Reserve achieving 124 percent with 1,953 new accessions.
The Army Reserve was at 111 percent; the Army National Guard at 108
percent; the Air Force Reserve at 101 percent; and the Navy Reserve
at 100 percent. The Air National Guard, with 1,048 recruits, fell 13
percent short of its goal.

All four service branches met or exceeded retention goals.

.

Nearly 1 in 4 fails military exam

[2 articles]

Nearly 1 in 4 fails military exam

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jmflKFlGubkYUuLnntRO-rOuuNRw?docId=c90a31f788054427ab6f7176f6c1d4c9

(AP) ­ Dec 21, 2010

MIAMI (AP) ­ Nearly one-fourth of the students who try to join the
U.S. Army fail its entrance exam, painting a grim picture of an
education system that produces graduates who can't answer basic math,
science and reading questions, according to a new study released Tuesday.

The report by The Education Trust bolsters a growing worry among
military and education leaders that the pool of young people
qualified for military service will grow too small.

"Too many of our high school students are not graduating ready to
begin college or a career ­ and many are not eligible to serve in our
armed forces," U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan told the AP. "I
am deeply troubled by the national security burden created by
America's underperforming education system."

The effect of the low eligibility rate might not be noticeable now ­
the Department of Defense says it is meeting its recruitment goals ­
but that could change as the economy improves, said retired Navy Rear
Admiral Jamie Barnett.

"If you can't get the people that you need, there's a potential for a
decline in your readiness," said Barnett, who is part of the group
Mission: Readiness, a coalition of retired military leaders working
to bring awareness to the high ineligibility rates.

The report by The Education Trust found that 23 percent of recent
high school graduates don't get the minimum score needed on the
enlistment test to join any branch of the military. Questions are
often basic, such as: "If 2 plus x equals 4, what is the value of x?"

The military exam results are also worrisome because the test is
given to a limited pool of people: Pentagon data shows that 75
percent of those aged 17 to 24 don't even qualify to take the test
because they are physically unfit, have a criminal record or didn't
graduate high school.

Educators expressed dismay that so many high school graduates are
unable to pass a test of basic skills.

"It's surprising and shocking that we are still having students who
are walking across the stage who really don't deserve to be and
haven't earned that right," said Tim Callahan with the Professional
Association of Georgia Educators, a group that represents more than
80,000 educators.

Kenneth Jackson, 19, of Miami, enlisted in the Army after graduating
from high school. He said passing the entrance exam is easy for those
who paid attention in school, but blamed the education system for why
more recruits aren't able to pass the test.

"The classes need to be tougher because people aren't learning
enough," Jackson said.

This is the first time that the U.S. Army has released this test data
publicly, said Amy Wilkins of The Education Trust, a Washington,
D.C.-based children's advocacy group. The study examined the scores
of nearly 350,000 high school graduates, ages 17 to 20, who took the
ASVAB exam between 2004 and 2009. About half of the applicants went
on to join the Army.

Recruits must score at least a 31 out of 99 on the first stage of the
three-hour test to get into the Army. The Marines, Air Force, Navy
and Coast Guard recruits need higher scores.

Further tests determine what kind of job the recruit can do with
questions on mechanical maintenance, accounting, word comprehension,
mathematics and science.

The study shows wide disparities in scores among white and minority
students, similar to racial gaps on other standardized tests. Nearly
40 percent of black students and 30 percent of Hispanics don't pass,
compared with 16 percent of whites. The average score for blacks is
38 and for Hispanics is 44, compared to whites' average score of 55.

Even those passing muster on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude
Battery, or ASVAB, usually aren't getting scores high enough to snag
the best jobs.

"A lot of times, schools have failed to step up and challenge these
young people, thinking it didn't really matter ­ they'll straighten
up when they get into the military," said Kati Haycock, president of
the Education Trust. "The military doesn't think that way."

Entrance exams for the U.S. military date to World War I. The test
has changed over time as computers and technology became more
prevalent, and skills like ability to translate Morse code have
fallen by the wayside.

The test was overhauled in 2004, and the study only covers scores
from 2004 through 2009. The Education Trust didn't request examine
earlier data to avoid a comparison between two versions of the test,
said Christina Theokas, the author of the study. The Army did not
immediately respond to requests for further information.

Tom Loveless, an education expert at the Brookings Institution think
tank, said the results echo those on other tests. In 2009, 26 percent
of seniors performed below the 'basic' reading level on the National
Assessment of Education Progress.

Other tests, like the SAT, look at students who are going to college.

"A lot of people make the charge that in this era of accountability
and standardized testing, that we've put too much emphasis on basic
skills," Loveless said. "This study really refutes that. We have a
lot of kids that graduate from high school who have not mastered basic skills."

The study also found disparities across states, with Wyoming having
the lowest ineligibility rate, at 13 percent, and Hawaii having the
highest, at 38.3 percent.

Retired military leaders say the report's findings are cause for concern.

"The military is a lot more high-tech than in the past," said retired
Air Force Lt. Gen. Norman R. Seip. "I don't care if you're a soldier
Marine carrying a backpack or someone sitting in a research
laboratory, the things we expect out of our military members requires
a very, very well educated force."

A Department of Defense report notes the military must recruit about
15 percent of youth, but only one-third are eligible. More high
school graduates are going to college than in earlier decades, and
about one-fourth are obese, making them medically ineligible.

In 1980, by comparison, just 5 percent of youth were obese.

--------

Delaware schools:
Recruiting test failure rate raises concerns

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20101223/NEWS03/12230341

More than a quarter of Del. students couldn't pass

By NICHOLE DOBO
December 23, 2010

More than a quarter of Delaware's students failed the exam given to
potential Army recruits, according to a study released this week.

That's about the same as the national figures, which show that nearly
one in four test-takers can't answer enough math, reading and science
questions to be admitted to the U.S. military. Questions are often
basic, such as: "If 2 plus x equals 4, what is the value of x?"

The report from the nonprofit Education Trust comes on the heels of a
Pentagon report that showed about 75 percent of those ages 17 to 24
don't qualify to take the test because they are physically unfit,
have a criminal record or dropped out of high school.

That worries Marine veteran Casey Taylor of Wilmington. When he took
the test in 1999 he found it to be "ridiculously easy," but knew a
couple of guys who were unable to pass it. If the standards get
lower, that's not good news for servicemen, Taylor said.

"When you are out there, you want the best guy next to you," he said.

Also, for recruits, the test scores often are used to determine who
gets the most desirable jobs or recruitment incentives.

In Delaware, the state made a decision this year to increase the
state's standards on math and reading assessments, and part of the
state's $119 million federal Race to the Top money is being used to
help create a better system for utilizing that data.

"By the time they graduate, students need to be prepared to succeed
in college or work -- and that includes working and learning as part
of our nation's armed forces," Gov. Jack Markell said in a statement.
"We need to ensure that they are better served, so that they can
choose to serve. Stronger schools are clearly important to our
economic security and are important to our national security as well."

About 150 educators were involved in helping to set higher standards
to better align the state's annual assessment to the national tests
given to children. The point of this was to ensure that the state's
students are being measured accurately, according to the state
Department of Education.
--

Contact Nichole Dobo at 324-2281 or ndobo@delawareonline.com

.

Recruiter’s passion makes her No. 1

[2 articles]

Recruiter's passion makes her No. 1

http://www.dailyinterlake.com/news/local_montana/article_7372c8ec-0d84-11e0-b516-001cc4c002e0.html

Local soldier wins national recognition

December 22, 2010
KRISTI ALBERTSON

A Kalispell soldier is the nation's top recruiter for the Army
National Guard this year.

Sgt. 1st Class Tavia Syme was named the top recruiter Dec. 4 after
first being named top recruiter in the state and region. She is the
first woman to receive the national award.

More than 4,000 recruiters from every U.S. state and territory
competed for the honor, she said.

"It definitely was ... pretty exciting to be chosen after seeing what
my competition was," she said.

At each level of competition, Syme was "boarded" by her superiors. It
was an opportunity for them to question her while she appeared in
dress uniform and was critiqued to see whether she was within regulation.

Syme was chosen for the award based on the number of men and women
she has recruited to the Army National Guard and on the quality of
those recruits, she said. Recruits are judged on their medical,
physical and moral capacities and on how many are successful at basic training.

She was also judged on how well she takes care of her soldiers and
how well she and they contribute to their community. Syme and her
recruits work booths at the fair, march in parades and are "in the
public eye in a positive way," she said.

Those young soldiers recently took part in the Army National Guard's
Christmas at Our House celebration, Syme said. They worked in the
serving line and peeled potatoes for the dinner.

The goal of those kinds of events is to teach recruits to take pride
in their communities, Syme said.

"You're not just a part-time soldier. You're part of a community.
That is who you support," she said.

Such service benefits the recruits, too, she added.

"It helps the kids feel bigger than life," she said. "They're proud
to wear the uniform."

Syme recruited 35 people this year, more than her personal goal of 32
and well above the mission of 16.

The secret, she said, is diligence and patience.

"I think patience is a huge thing," she said.

There are many highs in her line of work. Syme said her favorite
times are when she receives letters or e-mails from recruits who
never thought they would survive basic training.

But there are also lows, like telling someone whose heart was set on
joining that they didn't make it.

"It's gut-wrenching to have to tell them that their dream is over," she said.

She knows from experience how it feels.

"I always wanted to be in the service. I was turned down twice before
I got in," she said.

When she at last made it, Syme, a 1983 Columbia Falls High School
graduate, served for 15 years in the Army Reserve as a water
purification non-commissioned officer. She has been with the National
Guard for nearly three years and has been a recruiter for two.

"I have quite the passion for this. This isn't just a job; it's my
life," she said.

Others have noticed her love for the job.

"Her passion for the Montana Army National Guard is unmatched. She
loves what she does and what the Montana Army National Guard stands
for," Lt. Col. Mark Boettcher, commander of the Montana National
Guard's Recruiting and Retention Command, said in a press release.

While her stepfather served briefly in the military, Syme said her
passion is her own and comes primarily from a lifelong desire to
serve like the men and women in uniform she had seen as a child.

"I wanted to emulate them and be a part of that, and to give back to
our community and our country," she said. "I think we're very
fortunate to be here."

She has since passed on her passion to other family members. Syme has
a son in the Navy, another son and a daughter in the National Guard
and a niece in the Army.

"I started something, that's for sure," she said with a laugh.
--

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or at
kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.

--------

Air Force recruiter tries to help people better their lives

http://www.dcourier.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=88891&SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1086&S=1

12/26/2010
By Lisa Irish

Senior Airman Marvis Stoney spoke with James "Rocky" Turner about
Turner's plans to join the Air Force Tuesday at the recruiting office
at Prescott Gateway Mall.

"This is what I joined Air Force recruiting for, to help people
better their lives by joining the Force, especially in the current
economy," said Stoney, who's been a recruiter since September.

Turner, 21, whose father served as a Marine, said he'd been speaking
with Stoney for a while to find out more about the different branches
of the Air Force. Turner said he's hoping to get his degree in
electronic and computer engineering after he goes into the Air Force.

"My goal is to go to Embry-Riddle," Turner said. "I went there on a
fifth grade field trip and I've wanted to go there ever since."

Stoney said the GI bill provides $80,000 toward college and it's a
good way to make sure people further their education.

"If you are looking for a guaranteed job in this economy with a
guaranteed pay check, look into the Air Force or the other armed
forces as well to help you reach the goals you want to achieve in
life," Stoney said.

Stoney, who has served five years in the Air Force, said he was
deployed to Kurgistan and worked in services in Germany as well as
did a lot of traveling while he was in Europe.

.

Don't go, don't kill!

Don't go, don't kill!

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2010/12/2010122314043803810.html

The repeal of don't ask, don't tell for gays in the US military is
not a positive step for equality, activist says.

Cindy Sheehan
23 Dec 2010

The recent repeal of the US military policy of "Don't ask, don't
tell" is far from being the human rights advancement some are touting
it to be. I find it intellectually dishonest, in fact, illogical on
any level to associate human rights with any military, let alone one
that is currently dehumanising two populations as well as numerous
other victims of it's clandestine "security" policies.

Placing this major contention aside, the enactment of the bill might
be an institutional step forward in the fight for "equality"; however
institutions rarely reflect reality.

Do we really think that the US congress vote to repeal the act and
Obama signing the bill is going to stop the current systemic
harassment of gays in the military?

While I am a staunch advocate for equality of marriage and same-sex
partnership, I cannot - as a peace activist - rejoice in the fact
that now homosexuals can openly serve next to heterosexuals in one of
the least socially responsible organisations that currently exists on
earth: The US military.

It is an organisation tainted with a history of intolerance towards
anyone who isn't a Caucasian male from the Mid-West. Even then I'm
sure plenty fitting that description have faced the terror and
torment enshrined into an institution that transforms the pride and
enthusiasm of youth into a narrow zeal for dominating power relations.

Wrong battle for equality

It is hard to separate this issue from the activities of the
military. War might be a "racket", but it is also the most
devastating act one can be involved in, whether you are the aggressor
or a victimised civilian, no one can shake off the psychological
scars of war. No one.

Its effects on the individual as well as collective human psyche are
terminal. Championing equal rights is an issue of morality, war is
immoral, and the US military is heading further and further down the
path of immorality.

Even with the advent of WikiLeaks, transparency and accountability of
US military activity has been sucked into a black hole of silence.
Drone attacks, illegal cross-border interventions, extra-judicial
assassinations all occur in the name of national interest. It is not
in the interest of equal rights activists to support an institution
that is intent on ignoring every protocol of human decency.

Face it, gays are now and have been in the military since before
Valley Forge during the Revolutionary War.

The only difference being one can now admit their orientation without
fear of official recrimination - a major boon for the equal rights
movement! The capacity for increased carnage should not be celebrated
as a victory!

I cannot help but think about those that are on the receiving end of
US military aggression. So a minor change has occurred at the input
juncture of the war machine, but the output remains the same: we
dismantle systems of indigenous governance, support disingenuous
often criminal overlords, commit endless acts of brutality, and worst
of all leave entire nations rudderless, spiraling downwards into the
same abyss that engulfs the US military's lack of accountability.

I wonder what the response towards don't ask, don't will be overseas?
I wonder if mothers across the Swat Valley in Northern Pakistan are
cheering the repeal of the act (most likely not), gathering in the
streets to celebrate a victory in the global pursuit of human
equality, only to be forced to take cover as yet another
hellfire-laden drone appears on the horizon. Hell hath no fury, as a
drone operated from somewhere south of the Mason-Dixon Line.

Don't equal human rights extend to those that the Empire has
mislabeled as the "enemy"? Or do we now have to ignore the fact that
innocent people are being slaughtered by the thousands?

Unjust binaries

We live in a world governed by binaries, straight or gay, them or us,
freedom or tyranny. Until we break away from this norm, we shall
forever be shackled to a narrow existence, manipulated by a political
establishment that serves its own interests.

We should embrace complication, appreciate difference and most of all
not be duped into accepting "victories" that clearly benefit an
elite, that you and me (pardon the binary) will never be part of.

Some of us in the peace movement work really hard to keep our young
people out of the hands of the war machine that preys on
disadvantaged young people in inner cities and poor rural settings.

To see a demographic that is (without appearing to stereotypes)
traditionally better educated, more politically progressive, and
economically advantaged fight to join this killing machine is very
disheartening.

I can see how one could view the repeal as a step forward, framed in
the context dictated by the political elites of the Washington
beltway. I can imagine much displeasure amongst the military brass ­
but I cannot reiterate enough how this is not a progressive moment in
the social history of the United States.

The US military is not a human rights organisation and nowhere near a
healthy place to earn a living or raise a family. My email box is
filled with stories of mostly straight soldiers and their families
who were deeply harmed by life in the military.

Because of the callous and violent nature of the system, Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is on the rise and suicide rates
among veterans and the spouses of active duty soldiers are skyrocketing.

Veterans still find it very difficult to access the services,
benefits and bonuses that were promised to them by their recruiters.
I cannot imagine the repealing of DADT significantly improving the
material conditions experienced by gays during military service.

While the children of war profiteers and politicians are protected
from any kind of sacrifice, this Empire preys on the rest of our
youth - gay/straight; male/female - and spits their mangled or dead
bodies onto the dung heap of history, without a qualm or a twinge of
conscience.

Joining the US military should never be an option for the socially
conscious while our troops are being used as corporate tools for
profit, or hired assassins for imperial expansion. Soldiers are
called: "Bullet sponges," by their superiors and "dumb animals" by
Henry Kissinger, the former secretary of state.

While soldiers are dehumanised and treated like dirt, they are taught
to dehumanise "the other", and treat them as less than dirt. It is a
vicious cycle, and the way to stop a vicious cycle is to denounce and
reject it, not openly participate.

I want to bang my head against a wall when another young gay person
commits suicide as a result despicable bullying, yet people within
the same community have fought hard for the right to openly join the
biggest bully ever! Don't go, don't kill!
--

Cindy Sheehan is the mother of Specialist Casey A. Sheehan, who was
killed in Iraq on April 4, 2004. Since then, she has been an activist
for peace and human rights. She has published five books, has her own
Internet radio show, Cindy Sheehan's Soapbox, and has been nominated
for the Nobel Peace Prize. You can learn more about Cindy at Peace of
the Action.

.

Recruiter discharged from Navy for alcohol charges

Recruiter discharged from Navy for alcohol charges

http://www.sanduskyregister.com/2010/dec/24/recruiterupdate122310mtxml

Melissa Topey
12/24/10

One local military recruiter was discharged and another was
reassigned following an investigation into misconduct.

Justin R. Szadkowski, 24, was discharged from the Navy on Dec. 8,
said Keith Bryska, public affairs officer at the Navy Recruiting
District in Ohio.

Bryska would not say if it was an honorable or dishonorable discharge.

Szadkowski pleaded no contest on Nov. 1 in Sandusky Municipal Court
to one misdemeanor charge of furnishing alcohol to underage persons.
Judge Erich O'Brien sentenced him to 60 days but suspended the sentence.

Szadkowski was removed from his position as a Navy recruiter after an
incident two months ago.

Perkins police went to the military recruiting offices on West
Perkins Avenue at about 11:30 p.m. Oct. 28 to investigate a report of
teenage Marine recruits drinking with recruiters.

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 teens drank while he played video
games in the recruiting office, a police report said.

The Marine Corps also conducted an investigation into the conduct of
Marine recruiter Sgt. Anthony M. Council, 28, who was accused of
supplying alcohol to recruits at the West Perkins Avenue offices and
engaging in sexual misconduct, said Sgt. Triah Pendracki, a Marine
spokesperson in Cleveland.

On Dec. 14 Council's commanders found he violated military article
92, disobeying lawful orders. Those in Council's chain of command
found him guilty of two counts of inappropriate relationships with
applicants by drinking and meeting socially with them. They also
found him guilty of one count of using government property -- his
office -- for unofficial business, Pendracki said.

Council did not face any charges from police.

The Marine Corps found no evidence to substantiate allegations
Council engaged in a sexual relationship with a teenage recruit.

As a result of the investigation, Council will remain with the
Marines but he's being reassigned to administrative duty at a station
still to be determined, Pendracki said.

Council did not return a phone message seeking comment.

.

Court Tosses Bans on Military Recruitment of Minors

Court Tosses Bans on Military Recruitment of Minors

http://www.metnews.com/articles/2010/arca122010.htm

By STEVEN M. ELLIS, Staff Writer
December 20, 2010

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday upheld a decision
striking down ordinances in two Northern California cities barring
military recruitment of minors.

A three judge-panel said the Arcata and Eureka ordinances violated
the doctrine of intergovernmental immunity by impermissibly seeking
to regulate the government directly and by discriminating against it.

Voters in each city overwhelmingly approved the ordinances in
November 2008 barring the federal government and its agents from
recruiting, initiating contact for recruiting purposes, or promoting
enlistment of anyone under 18 into the armed forces. The Youth
Protection Acts subjected military recruiters to civil penalties for
each infraction, but did not prohibit anyone not employed by the
government from encouraging military enlistment.

The federal government quickly sued seeking a declaration that both
ordinances were invalid under the Supremacy Clause. The cities
requested an order prohibiting the government recruiting any Arcata
or Eureka resident under 17 into the military, but U.S. District
Judge Saundra B. Armstrong of the Northern District of California
declared the ordinances invalid and enjoined their enforcement.

Armstrong said the ordinances were unconstitutional because they
sought "to subject the conduct of the federal government directly to
local government control," violating the doctrine of
intergovernmental immunity. The doctrine prevents the federal
government and the individual states from intruding on one another's
sovereignty.

On appeal, the Ninth Circuit affirmed in an opinion by U.S. District
Judge Matthew F. Kennelly of the Northern District of Illinois,
sitting by designation.

Kennelly agreed with the lower court's ruling that the ordinances
impermissibly sought to regulate the federal government directly and
impermissibly discriminated against the government, writing:

"[T]he ordinances do not merely regulate the federal government
incidentally; rather, they are expressly intended to do so."

He rejected the cities' argument that the ordinances merely prohibit
conduct "already forbidden" by federal law, including the Optional
Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the
Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, noting that they offered
no authority to support such an exception to intergovernmental immunity.

Kennelly also said the ordinances were not a proper use of police
powers reserved to the states under the Tenth Amendment because the
ordinances dealt with the power to raise armies, the province of the
federal government.

In a separate part of the opinion, he rejected the cities' argument
that the government alleged only a hypothetical negative impact on
recruiting and could not show an injury that would give the district
court subject matter jurisdiction.

"The cities' adoption and threatened enforcement of the
ordinances…subjects the government to an imminent adverse impact," he wrote.

The judge similarly rebuffed the cities' contention that the
government was trying to sue on what was a defense, misusing the
Declaratory Judgment Act to manufacture a federal claim.

"The government's complaint posed a federal question in its own right
because it sought invalidation of the ordinances under federal law," he said.

Chief Judge Alex Kozinski and Judge Pamela Ann Rymer joined Kennelly
in his opinion.

The case is United States v. City of Arcata, 09-16780.

.

Rape rampant in US military

[In 2 parts]

Rape rampant in US military

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2010/12/2010122182546344551.html

Statistics and soldiers' testimonies reveal a harrowing epidemic of
sexual assault in the US military.

Dahr Jamail
24 Dec 2010

Sexual assault within the ranks of the military is not a new problem.
It is a systemic problem that has necessitated that the military
conduct its own annual reporting on the crisis.

A 2003 Air Force Academy sexual assault scandal prompted the
department of defense to include a provision in the 2004 National
Defense Authorization Act that required investigations and reports of
sexual harassment and assaults within US military academies to be
filed. The personal toll is, nevertheless, devastating.

Military sexual trauma (MST) survivor Susan Avila-Smith is director
of the veteran's advocacy group Women Organizing Women. She has been
serving female and scores of male clients in various stages of
recovery from MST for 15 years and knows of its devastating effects up close.

"People cannot conceive how badly wounded these people are," she told
Al Jazeera, "Of the 3,000 I've worked with, only one is employed.
Combat trauma is bad enough, but with MST it's not the enemy, it's
our guys who are doing it. You're fighting your friends, your peers,
people you've been told have your back. That betrayal, then the
betrayal from the command is, they say, worse than the sexual assault itself."

On December 13, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other
groups filed a federal lawsuit seeking Pentagon records in order to
get the real facts about the incidence of sexual assault in the ranks.

The Pentagon has consistently refused to release records that fully
document the problem and how it is handled. Sexual assaults on women
in the US military have claimed some degree of visibility, but about
male victims there is absolute silence.

Pack Parachute, a non-profit in Seattle, assists veterans who are
sexual assault survivors. Its founder Kira Mountjoy-Pepka, was raped
as a cadet at the Air Force Academy. In July 2003 she was member of a
team of female cadets handpicked by Donald Rumsfeld, at the time the
secretary of defense, to tell their stories of having been sexually
assaulted. The ensuing media coverage and a Pentagon investigation
forced the academy to make the aforementioned major policy changes.

Report reveals alarming statistics

Mountjoy-Pepka often works with male survivors of MST. She stated in
a telephone interview that four per cent of men in the military
experience MST. "Most choose not to talk about it until after their
discharge from the military, largely because the post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) in over 60 percent of MST cases is too
overwhelming," she informed Al Jazeera.

Last week the Pentagon released its "annual report on sexual
harassment and violence at the military service academies". At its
three academies, the number of reports of sexual assault and
harassment has risen a staggering 64 percent from last year.

The report attributes the huge increase to better reporting of
incidents due to increased training and education about sexual
assault and harassment. Veteran's Administration (VA) statistics show
that more than 50 percent of the veterans who screen positive for MST are men.

According to the US Census Bureau, there are roughly 22 million male
veterans compared to less than two million female vets.

In Congressional testimony in the summer of 2008, Lt. Gen. Rochelle,
the army chief of personnel, reported the little known statistic that
12 percent (approximately 260) of the 2,200 reported rapes in the
military in 2007 were reported by military male victims.

Due to their sheer numbers in the military, more men (at a rough
estimate one in twenty), have experienced MST than women.

Shamed into silence

Billy Capshaw was 17 when he joined the Army in 1977. After being
trained as a medic he was transferred to Baumholder, Germany. His
roommate, Jeffrey Dahmer, by virtue of his seniority ensured that
Capshaw had no formal assignment, no mail, and no pay. Having
completely isolated the young medic, Dahmer regularly sexually
assaulted, raped, and tortured him.

Dahmer went on to become the infamous serial killer and sex offender
who murdered 17 boys and men before being beaten to death by an
inmate at Columbia Correction Institution in 1994.

Capshaw reflects back, "At that young age I didn't know how to deal
with it. My commander did not believe me. Nobody helped me, even
though I begged and begged and begged."

The debilitating lifelong struggle Capshaw has had to face is common
among survivors of military sexual assault.

Later during therapy he needed to go public. Since then he says,
"I've talked to a lot of men, many of them soldiers, who are raped
but who won't go public with their story. The shame alone is overwhelming."

In 1985 Michael Warren enlisted in the navy and for three years
worked as a submarine machinist mate on a nuclear submarine. One day
he awoke to find another soldier performing fellatio on him.

He recollects with horror, "I was paralyzed with fear. I was in
disbelief... shame. When I reported it to the commander he said it
was better for me to deal with it after being discharged. Nobody
helped me, not even the chaplain. The commander at the processing
centre wouldn't look me in the face. When I filled out my claim later
they didn't believe me. It's so frustrating."

Armando Javier was an active duty Marine from 1990 to 1994. He was a
Lance Corporal at Camp Lejeune in 1993 when he was raped.

Five Marines jumped Javier and beat him until he was nearly
unconscious, before taking turns raping him. His sexual victimization
narrative reads, "One of them, a corporal, pulled down my shorts and
instructed the others to 'Get the grease'. Another corporal
instructed someone to bring the stick. They began to insert the stick
inside my anus. The people present during this sadistic and
ritual-like ceremony started to cajole, cheer, and laugh, saying
"stick em' – stick-em'."

Extreme shame and trauma compelled him not to disclose the crime to
anyone except a friend in his unit. He wrote in his account, "My
experience left me torn apart physically, mentally, and spiritually.
I was dehumanized and treated with ultimate cruelty, by my
perpetrators… I was embarrassed and ashamed and didn't know what to
do. I was young at that time. And being part of an elite organization
that values brotherhood, integrity and faithfulness made it hard to
come forward and reveal what happened."

The reality of being less equal

Women in America were first allowed into the military during the
Revolutionary War in 1775 and their travails are as old. Drill
instructors indoctrinate new recruits into it at the outset by
routinely referring to them as "girl," "pussy," "bitch," and "dyke."

A Command Sergeant Major told Catherine Jayne West of the Mississippi
National Guard, "There aren't but two places for women - in the
kitchen or in the bedroom. Women have no place in the military."

She was raped by fellow soldier Private First Class Kevin Lemeiux, at
the sprawling Camp Anaconda, north of Baghdad. The defense lawyer in
court merely wanted to know why, as a member of the army, she had not
fought back.

The morning after the rape, an army doctor gave her a thorough
examination. The army's criminal investigation team concluded her
story was true. Moreover, Lemeiux had bragged about the incident to
his buddies and they had turned him in. It seemed like a closed case,
but in court the defense claimed that the fact that West had not
fought back during the rape was what incriminated her. In addition,
her commanding officer and 1st Sergeant declared, in court, that she
was a "promiscuous female."

In contrast, Lemeiux, after the third court hearing of the trial, was
promoted to a Specialist. Meanwhile his lawyer entered a plea of insanity.

He was later found guilty of kidnapping but not rape, despite his own
admission of the crime. He was given three years for kidnapping, half
of which was knocked off.

The long term affects of MST

Jasmine Black, a human resources specialist in the Army National
Guard from June 2006 to September 2008 was raped by another soldier
in her battalion when she was stationed in Fort Jackson, South
Carolina. She reported it to her Sexual Assault Response Coordinator
(SARC) and the Military Police, but the culprit was not brought to book.

After an early discharge due to MST and treatment at a PTSD
Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (PRRTP) facility, she
was raped again by a higher-ranking member of the air force in February 2009.

Administrator for a combat engineering instruction unit in Knoxville,
Tennessee, Tracey Harmon has no illusions. "For women in the
military, you are either a bitch, a dyke, or a whore. If you sleep
with one person in your unit you are a whore. If you are a lesbian
you are a dyke, and if you don't sleep with other soldiers you are a bitch."

Maricela Guzman served in the navy from 1998 to 2002 as a computer
technician on the island of Diego Garcia. She was raped while in boot
camp, but fear of consequences kept her from talking about it for the
rest of her time in the military. "I survived by becoming a
workaholic and was much awarded as a soldier for my work ethic."

On witnessing the way it treated the native population in Diego
Garcia, she chose to dissociate from the military. Post discharge,
her life became unmanageable. She underwent a divorce, survived a
failed suicide attempt and became homeless before deciding to move in
with her parents. A chance encounter with a female veteran at a
political event in Los Angeles prompted her to contact the VA for
help. Her therapist there diagnosed her with PTSD from her rape.

The VA denied her claim nevertheless, "Because they said I couldn't
prove it … since I had not brought it up when it happened and also
because I had not shown any deviant behavior while in the service. I
was outraged and felt compelled to talk about what happened."

While it will go to any length to maintain public silence over the
issue, the military machine has no such qualms within its own
corridors. Guzman discloses, "Through the gossip mill we would hear
of women who had reported being raped. No confidentiality was
maintained nor any protection given to victims. The boys' club
culture is strong and the competition exclusive. That forces many not
to report rape, because it is a blemish and can ruin your career."

The department of defence reported that in fiscal year 2009, there
were 3,230 reports of sexual assault, an increase of 11 percent over
the prior year.

However, as high as the military's own figures are of rape and sexual
assault, victims and advocates Al Jazeera spoke with believe the real
figures are sure to be higher.
--

April Fitzsimmons, who was originally quoted in this article,
requested that her information be removed on the basis of personal reasons.
--

This is the first in a two part series on sexual harassment in the US
military. The second part in the series will be published in the
coming week. [See below.]

--------

Military sexual abuse 'staggering'

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/2010/12/20101223113859171112.html

In part two of our series, Al Jazeera examines the often hidden world
of rape and abuse in the US military.

Dahr Jamail
23 Dec 2010

Every year, rape increases at an alarming rate within American
military institutions – and even males are victims of the cycle.

In fact, due to raw demographics, one can roughly surmise that most
victims of sexual abuse in the military are male.

Regardless of gender, reports of victims of military sexual assault
have been increasing. In 2007, there were 2,200 reports of rape in
the military, whilst in 2009 saw an increase up to 3,230 reports of
sexual assault.

Many of the victims suffer from Military Sexual Trauma (MST) and are
shamed into silence, with numerous cases not even reported.

A disturbing trend, however, is how military officials seem to be
sweeping this damaging issue under the rug and deflecting blame.

Blaming the Victim

Kira Mountjoy-Pepka of Pack Parachute, a non-profit organisation
which assists sexually abused veterans, explains that the military
system favours the perpetrator. "What we're seeing now, and what
we've seen for decades, is when someone is assaulted, the military
investigators create false or misleading crime reports. Then the case
is dismissed, and the command persecutes the victim for false reporting."

She cites the Feres Doctrine (Feres v. United States, 340 US 135
[1950]) that made it impossible for the survivor to sue the
investigators since it, "essentially prohibits people from suing the
military and/or petitioning any non-military legal authority for
interdiction without the military's prior and explicit agreement and consent."

"If you're a victim and you report this crime and the military
mishandles the investigation, you can't sue them," she explains, "I
feel if this were taken up by Congress as an issue it would be
exposed that the military is operating against the Constitution by
denying victims their first amendment rights. The military always has
their own investigators investigate [these cases], and that doesn't
seem like justice to me."

The military goes to great lengths to protect the perpetrators, and
that deters survivors from reporting. The incidences of sexual trauma
in the military are staggering.

The Department of Defence claims to have a zero-tolerance policy
towards sexual assault in the ranks, but figures indicate otherwise.

According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, the rate of
sexual assault on women in the military is twice that in the civilian
population. A Government Accountability Office report concluded that
most victims stay silent because of "the belief that nothing would be
done; fear of ostracism, harassment, or ridicule and concern that
peers would gossip."

While a civilian rape victim is ensured confidential advice from his
or her doctors, lawyers and advocates, the only access a military
rape survivor has is to a chaplain.

Compared with a 40 per cent arrest rate for sex crimes among
civilians, only eight per cent of investigated cases in the military
lead to prosecution.

After Congress mandated it do so in 2006, the Pentagon started a
comprehensive programme to track incidents. That year, there were
2,974 reported cases of rape and sexual assault in the military. Of
these, only 292 cases resulted in trials, and those netted only 181
prosecutions of perpetrators.

Nearly half the cases are dismissed for lack of adequate proof or due
to the death of the victim. Less than 11 per cent of the cases result
in a court martial. Often, those prosecuted merely suffer a reduction
in rank or pay, and 80 per cent receive an honourable discharge nonetheless.

The victim, on the other hand, risks ending his or her career when
they file charges.

Signed, the commander

Faced with the threat of possible persecution and losing their jobs
and professional credibility, most soldiers prefer to remain silent
about their traumas. Not that silence helps, because records reveal
that less than one-third of the women have been able to maintain
their careers in the military after having been assaulted.

When presented with these dismal statistics in an interview with ABC
News last year, former Principal Undersecretary of Defence for
Personnel and Readiness, Michael Dominguez said, "Yes, we absolutely
have to get better. Secretary [Robert] Gates himself is driving this
initiative this year to improve our ability to investigate, to
prosecute and convict. This is not where we want to be."

Dominguez's replacement, Clifford Stanley, issued a Strategic Plan
for Fiscal Years 2010-12 on December 30, 2009. It addresses the need
to "Establish a culture free of sexual assault", and puts forth goals
of 90 per cent "awareness" and 80 per cent "confidence" in the sexual
assault prevention and response program by the end of 2015, with no
specific mention of the means to accomplish these goals.

Those plans do not fill Susan Avila Smith with confidence. She is
director of the advocacy group Women Organising for Women and she
projects a dismal picture.

"The people I work with go all the way back to WWII. The stories are
almost exactly the same. It has always been covered up. Still the
drill sergeants, chaplains, and doctors appear to be the worst
perpetrators. So when these guys are convicted, rather than punishing
to the fullest extent, they can give them a letter of reprimand which
means Tommy was bad, signed The Commander. That letter comes out of
his personnel file before he moves on to the next unit, so it's like
nothing happened."

Military 'aware' of the crisis

Pentagon spokesperson Cynthia Smith assured Al Jazeera, "We
understand this is very important for everyone to get involved in
preventing sexual assault, and are calling on everyone to get
involved, step in, and watch each others' backs. We understand that
one sexual assault is too many in the Department of Defence (DOD). We
have an office working on prevention and response"

The office she alludes to is the Sexual Assault Prevention and
Response Office (SAPRO), which is responsible for the oversight of
the DOD's sexual assault policy.

In 2008 Kaye Whitley, Director of SAPRO, was subpoenaed to testify at
a hearing of the Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign
Affairs but was ordered by the military not to do so.

At a second oversight hearing she did appear and confessed to the
members of Congress, "I was given a direct order by my supervisor to
get back in the van and go back," she said.

At an MST Congressional hearing on February 3, 2010, highlighted was
what many see as the problem – the military investigating itself for
criminal acts of sexual assault and rape committed by its personnel,
as well as the naming of Task Force members and the work of the Task
Force being delayed for three years.

Due largely to Mountjoy-Pepka's work in the wake of her experiencing
MST and taking action, in October 2005 then-Secretary of Defence
Donald Rumsfeld authorised the DOD Task Force on Sexual Assault in
the military.

However, the DOD took three years to name the Task Force, and the
group's initial meeting did not occur until August 2008. During that
period, 6,000 service women and men were sexually assaulted or raped.

This same Task Force told Congress's Military Personnel Subcommittee
that, "DOD's procedures for collecting and documenting data about
military sexual assault incidents are lacking in accuracy,
reliability, and validity."

Task Force leaders also told Congress that "neither victims nor other
military personnel were routinely informed of the results of
disciplinary actions relating to sexual assault", and "Commanders
generally did not communicate case results to members of their
command, and that this lack of information often led to
misperceptions, rumours, and assumptions that allegations were unfounded."

Fighting back

Anuradha Bhagwati, the executive director of Service Women's Action
Network (SWAN), a group that helps military women who have been
victims of sexual violence, contradicts claims by the DOD that their
new programs will slow the number of MST victims. "We are seeing a
disturbingly steady flow," Bhagwati said .

In addition, she told Al Jazeera, "Contrary to DOD claims that they
are making it easier for MST survivors to get help, MST survivors
have a much more difficult time than other vets because of the burden
of proof being on them. There are concrete legal barriers in place
that prevent MST survivors from getting help."

The DOD defends the policy, saying it ensures that soldiers get
retained, promoted and their careers aren't destroyed.

SWAN has draft legislation in place to get rid of this policy.

Bhagwati concludes that nothing short of "radical systemic change"
will solve the MST crisis in the military today.

Susan Burke is an experienced litigator in Washington, DC who served
as lead counsel in five actions brought on behalf of the torture
victims at Abu Ghraib prison, as well as a suit against Blackwater
for killing 17 Iraqis in Baghdad.

She urges us to think of MST this way: "Think of the victims - it is
a double blow - first they're physically assaulted, then the
institution that is supposed to care for them does not care for them."

She claims that the DOD has done little more than give lip-service to
tackle the problem. "They created different positions, SARC, SAPRO,
but the problem is that there is no genuine political will to change
things. It's a paper tiger…the will doesn't exist. When you look at
the career paths of perpetrators compared to the victims, the former
are rising up the ranks, and the victims are leaving the military."

She is putting together a class action suit against the DOD for
failure to protect service-members from MST, aims to file it in
February, and hopes the case will bring significant and lasting
reform in the DOD's stance on MST.

They've been saying for years that they just need more time, that
they're getting their act together," Burke adds, "You can't expect to
have a properly functioning military without discipline problems
being addressed, and if you can't address rape, you have a real problem."

.

Air Force suicide rate highest in 17 years

Air Force suicide rate highest in 17 years

http://www.stripes.com/news/air-force-suicide-rate-highest-in-17-years-1.129579

By Jennifer H. Svan
December 22, 2010

Air Force suicides hit a 17-year high in 2010, and officials say
relationship problems remain the No. 1 reason airmen decide to end their lives.

Through Tuesday, 54 active-duty airmen have committed suicide ­ 13
more than last year ­ and the highest rate since 1993.

The alarming news comes after nearly two years of efforts within the
Defense Department to lower suicide numbers.

The other services are reporting slightly lower numbers among
active-duty troops. In the Army, there have been 144 confirmed or
suspected suicides among active-duty soldiers, compared with 162 in
2009. The Navy says its suicide rate dropped from 46 in 2009 to 33
this year, and the Marine Corps say its numbers fell from 52 last
year to 46 so far in 2010.

Air Force leaders said that, in addition to relationship problems,
other risk factors they evaluate include history of mental health
issues, alcohol in system at time of death, financial problems and
whether an airman was deployed in the past year.

"Suicide prevention remains a top priority of Air Force leadership,
and our leaders at all levels are fully engaged in the prevention
effort," said Maj. Michael McCarthy, Air Force Suicide Prevention
Program manager, in an e-mail to Stars and Stripes.

The service's research has found that deployment appears to be one of
the lowest risk factors, according to Donna Tinsley, a spokeswoman
with the Air Force surgeon general's office.

That research seems to be in line with recent Army findings: For
2010, a majority of active-duty soldiers who killed themselves had
either zero or only one previous deployment, despite soldiers
typically heading to the combat zones every other year.

The Air Force numbers show that leaders must remain vigilant despite
recent success in curbing suicides among airmen, officials said.

Last spring, a study funded by the National Institute of Mental
Health found the Air Force's suicide prevention program had, for the
most part, been effective in lowering the suicide rate among the
service's 325,000-plus active-duty ranks. The study's authors,
however, cautioned that the program's success was contingent on
ongoing monitoring and implementation efforts and "cannot be
maintained by 'inherent momentum.'"

Air Force officials say they believe the service's suicide prevention
efforts continue to have a positive impact on airmen's quality of
life, but they are also rolling out additional programs to help
airmen in need. Supervisors, for example, are starting to receive
training on how to directly intervene with airmen at highest risk for
suicide, officials said.

In addition to tracking suicide numbers, the DOD this year ordered
the services to start recording suicide attempts.

According to Marine Corps guidance, a suicide attempt is defined as
"a self-inflicted, potentially injurious behavior with a non-fatal
outcome for which there is evidence … of intent to die." A
spokeswoman at the Air Force surgeon general's office said "resulting
hospitalization is the definition used to validate the attempts."

This year, 197 airmen have survived suicide attempts, while the
Marine Corps has reported 165 attempts. The Navy said 60 sailors have
attempted suicide.

Army numbers were not available.
--

svanj@estripes.osd.mil

.

Now That You Can Join the Military, Please Don't!

To the Gay Community:
Now That You Can Join the Military, Please Don't!

http://www.alternet.org/story/149290/to_the_gay_community%3A_now_that_you_can_join_the_military%2C_please_don%27t!

As we struggle to find a more civilized way to treat each other in
this world, let us recognize the commonalities in the fight for gay
rights and the fight to end war.

December 21, 2010
By Medea Benjamin

The peace group I co-founded, CODEPINK, has not only been protesting
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the drone attacks in Pakistan,
but we have been going to military recruiting stations, high schools
and career fairs throughout the country encouraging our youth not to
join the military. We talk to young people about the illegality of
the wars under international law since we were not attacked by either
Iraq or Afghanistan. We talk about how killing and maiming innocent
civilians is morally wrong and creates new enemies, perpetuating the
cycle of violence. We explain that the majority of Afghans and Iraqis
want us out of their country and that these wars are not making us
safer. We insist that our military should be used to defend us at
home, not to invade other people's lands.

We know that the military is one of the only ways many young people
can afford a college education these days and that the financial
crisis severely limits this generation's career options. But we still
encourage young men and women to look for other opportunities that
don't involved killing or being killed in wars we shouldn't be fighting.

It might seem contradictory, then, that CODEPINK was an enthusiastic
supporter of the rights for gays and lesbians to join and serve
openly in the military. But within our organization, it was never
even controversial -- we stand up for the rights of all human beings.
The decision to join the military or not should be determined by
individual choice, not institutional discrimination.

We pressured our Congressional reps and attended every hearing with
signs calling for the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. We joined
protests at the White House and rallies in Congressional districts.
And we were in the Senate on Saturday when the historic vote passed,
hugging and kissing our friends who had struggled so hard for this victory.

We understand that allowing gay soldiers to openly serve in the
military is a crack in the armor of bigotry that will eventually open
the way for gay people to marry and be guaranteed equality in the
workplace. We understand this victory in the larger context of the
march toward full human rights for this oppressed community. And who
knows? Perhaps this victory will also serve to strengthen the
military's respect for human rights abroad.

We also understand the potential for a powerful alliance between the
gay and anti-war communities. We can work together to help young
people -- gay and straight -- find careers that won't kill them, maim
them, destroy them psychologically, or cause them to do harm to
others. We can jointly reach out to those already in the military to
speak out against the violations of the rights of peoples whose land
we occupy. We can ask gay veterans to join groups like Veterans for
Peace and Iraq Veterans Against the War. And we can work together to
turn our military from an aggressive force to one that truly defends
us here at home.

As we struggle to find a more civilized way to treat each other in
this world, let us recognize the commonalities in the fight for gay
rights and the fight to end war.
--

Medea Benjamin is cofounder of Global Exchange and CODEPINK:Women for Peace.

.

Too dumb? Too fat? Too bad

Too dumb? Too fat? Too bad

http://www.startribune.com/local/112439549.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUvckD8EQDUsA

By MARK BRUNSWICK
December 25, 2010

It's been well-documented that many high school grads are now too fat
to meet the U.S. military's physical requirements. Now it turns out
that many of those same kids may be too dumb.

The nonprofit Education Trust released a first-ever report this week
showing that more than one in five young people don't meet the
minimum standard required for Army enlistment. Among minority
candidates the ineligibility rates are higher: 29 percent. In
Minnesota, the disparity for black applicants was even more
startling: 40 percent were found to be ineligible. Among Hispanics in
Minnesota the rate was 20 percent, but among whites, it was 14.1 percent.

This is more a distressing indictment of the U.S. education system
than it is a testament to today's Cheeto-eating, Xbox-playing youth,
say the authors of the report. It strips away that illusion that the
military can be an easy landing ground for those not bound for
college, and it suggests that national security is at stake.

"The welfare and security of our nation is one and the same as the
welfare of our young people," said Amy Wilkins, vice president for
government affairs and communications for Education Trust.

The report is based on data from nearly 350,000 high school grads age
17-20 who took the Army's Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery
between 2004 and 2009. While every branch of the military has met or
exceeded its recruitment and retention goals, both in numbers and
skill level of applicants, an upsurge in the economy could easily
change that. The poor numbers also have implications for applicants
who make it into the military but score too low to be considered for
higher skilled jobs, training opportunities and chances for
advancement. As the world gets more complex, the military will need
educated young people to be effective, Wilkins said.

"Our schools have to be upping their game if we are going to supply
the military with the kind of folks they are going to need 15 years
in the future," she said.
--

Mark Brunswick • 612-673-4434

.

Army Waiting List Near Record Levels

U.S. Army Waiting List Near Record Levels With High Unemployment, GI Bill

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-army-waiting-list-record-levels-high-unemployment/story?id=12495054

U.S. Armed Forces Reduce Recruitment Target Even as Demand Increases

By HUMA KHAN
WASHINGTON, Dec. 29, 2010

Young Americans looking to join the armed forces may have to wait to serve.

The combination of lower recruitment target numbers, a weak economy
and the implementation of the GI bill has made waiting lists,
officially known as the Delayed Entry Pool, longer than they have
been in recent years.

The Marine Corps, which has traditionally had a smaller recruiting
base, has fulfilled more than 65 percent of its target for fiscal
year 2011. The Army entered the new recruiting year in October having
fulfilled 50 percent, or half its targeting goals for next year.

The number is a near record for the Army. The last time in recent
decades the waiting list was so long was 1996, when the Delayed Entry
Pool was at 42.9 percent at the start of the fiscal year.

In recent years, the Army lowered standards to boost recruitment,
including allowing those with low test scores and even criminal
records to join. But after years of such incentives and hefty
bonuses, recruitment interest has not only surged but the quality of
Americans who have expressed interest has improved considerably.

For the first time since fiscal year 1992, nearly all of the Army
recruits -- 99.9 percent -- in fiscal year 2010 were high school graduates.

"It's a great time for us. We're very pleased with the way things are
going. The characteristics of the people we're recruiting are near
all time highs," Maj. Douglas Smith, spokesman for the Army
recruitment command at Ft. Knox, Ky., told ABC News.

The higher number of high school graduates "was a good sign and we
have been able to restrict the number of waivers we give for conduct,
so that's been an improvement as well," he said.

A number of factors are behind the surging numbers. The military has
cut back recruitment goals across the board. The Army target, for
example, for the fiscal year 2011 is 67,000, lower than 74,500 in
2010 and well below the average recruitment goal of 80,000 between
2005 and 2008.

The economy also plays a crucial part. Unemployment remains
relatively high at 9.8 percent, the same level as last year, and
among 18-to-24-year-olds -- the Pentagon's prime recruiting age --
it's even higher.

Officials admit that unemployment has led more volunteers to visit
recruitment centers, but caution that it's only part of the equation.

U.S. Military Recruitment Surges

"Our economy has something to do with this, but not everything," Col.
David Lapan, deputy assistance secretary of defense for media
operations, said at a briefing in October. "A lot of people would
think that, as we look at where we are right now in terms of the
challenges facing us, it's more to it than the economy."

The post-9/11 GI Bill has also created a new incentive for young men
and women to join the armed forces. Passed last year, the bill pays
for education and housing for family and service members who have
served at least 90 days and were honorably discharged.

"The post-9/11 GI Bill has made a big difference in United States
Army recruiting, as I look and talk to our noncommissioned officers
and our officers who are out providing the strength for the Army
every day," said Maj. Gen. Donald M. Campbell, Jr., commanding
general of the U.S. Army recruiting command.

With more Americans eager to sign up to serve, what new recruits
shouldn't expect to see are the hefty bonuses that their predecessors
were promised as an added incentive. In fiscal year 2010, average
bonuses dropped to $5,900 for those with no prior military service,
considerably lower than $13,300 in 2009 and $18,300 in 2008.

The Senate Appropriations Committee also slashed about $500 million
out of the recruiting and reenlistment bonuses.

Fiscal year 2009 was the first time since the military became an
all-volunteer force in 1973 that all the services met their goals for
both numbers and quality of recruits in the 12 months ending Sept. 30.

Waiting lists for recruits are not a new phenomenon, but how long the
list and the wait is has varied over the years.

Delayed Entry Pools usually depend on the availability of the recruit
or the availability of a training slot. The size of the military
services is set in stone, so they can't bring in more people than
they're authorized, so in many cases, recruits have to wait for the
slots to open up.

.