Voluntary recruitment in the USA
American army recruiters at work
June 1st, 2005
Those who have seen the film by Michael Moore "Fahrenheit 9/11" or the thread "The War Machine" have seen the navy recruiters in action. It is known that the American army is now made up only of volunteers and not conscripts. The United States abolished conscription after the Vietnam War. Indeed, this system had the disadvantage of sending children from wealthy or even rich families to the front, whereas the new system now only recruits from disadvantaged backgrounds.
There is a particularly shocking scene where Moore confronts members of the American Congress (540 representatives) who have only sent one child to Iraq. Moore asks them if they are interested in the brochures distributed by the army and the recruiters, and all of them, without exception, run away. Indeed, in the USA today:
War is for the poor
The American army takes advantage of the fact that education is paid for in the USA. Therefore, the army offers young people the means to study. For them, there is no other alternative. The army also recruits many volunteers who are Latin American citizens, immigrants, or holders of American passports. To study in the USA or simply to become an American, one must accept to risk one's life for very questionable causes. The enlistment system allows the government to avoid dealing with the wave of dissent that led to the American withdrawal from Vietnam. Thanks to the new system, one can respond to a dissident soldier:
- You signed, old chap. It's too late for second thoughts
Today, five American youths die every day in Iraq and fifty return injured for life. Recruiters are increasingly struggling to find new recruits. They contact high school students who are eligible to enlist directly at their parents' homes, information provided by the schools. Read this document (source: the newspaper Le Monde):
American recruiters are ready for anything to enlist young soldiers
LE MONDE
31.05.05
13h48. Updated on 31.05.05
14h50
NEW YORK from our correspondent
David McSwane, a high school senior in Colorado, wanted to know how far American army recruiters were willing to go to enlist volunteers, at a time when the war in Iraq had reduced the number of volunteers. In January, he contacted his recruitment center, pretending to be a drifting young man interested in the army. He first confessed that he had no diploma. According to the regulations, US Army recruits must have at least a high school diploma. No problem, the recruiter replied. It is enough to fabricate a certificate, the safest being to choose a non-existent school. The instructor even suggested a name, "the Faith Hill Baptist School, for example". For 200 dollars, David obtained a fake diploma online in the name of this institution. A drug problem? Nothing insurmountable there either. The recruiter recommended a detoxification kit that would eliminate traces in case of testing. And he even drove his student to the store where he could get it.
David McSwane had taken care to record the phone conversations. He had enlisted his 11-year-old sister to take photos and a friend slightly older to hold a hidden camera. On March 17, he published his story in the Arvada high school newspaper. By the end of April, CBS television broadcast his recordings. By mid-May, the story had spread throughout the country.
Since 1973 and the end of the Vietnam War, the American army has been an army of volunteers. Today, recruitment is facing an unprecedented crisis. The Army is 6,000 recruits behind its target of 80,000 that it is supposed to fill before the end of the fiscal year in October. The 7,500 recruiters are supposed to enlist two volunteers each per month. As the school year ends, the pressure is high. Several hundred cases of overzealousness have been reported. Only seven incidents have been classified as "misconduct" by the army, but the Pentagon held an exceptional day on May 20th at the 1,700 centers across the country. Recruitment was suspended to remind them of ethics and regulations.
Recruiters have access to schools. They are in the cafeteria or at parent-teacher meetings. They offer concert or sports event tickets. Parents sometimes find them intrusive, but it is the school that provides the personal phone numbers to the military. Schools are required to provide their files to the army or risk losing their public funding. In spring, California representative Mike Honda introduced a bill to prevent student information from being transmitted to the army without the explicit consent of parents. A school district in New York that refused to comply is currently awaiting the visit of a colonel who must encourage them to cooperate.
Corine Lesnes
Article published in the edition of 01.06.05
American recruiters are ready for anything to enlist young soldiers
LE MONDE
31.05.05
13h48. Updated on 31.05.05
14h50
NEW YORK from our correspondent
David McSwane, a high school senior in Colorado, wanted to know how far American army recruiters were willing to go to enlist volunteers, at a time when the war in Iraq had reduced the number of volunteers. In January, he contacted his recruitment center, pretending to be a drifting young man interested in the army. He first confessed that he had no diploma. According to the regulations, US Army recruits must have at least a high school diploma. No problem, the recruiter replied. It is enough to fabricate a certificate, the safest being to choose a non-existent school. The instructor even suggested a name, "the Faith Hill Baptist School, for example". For 200 dollars, David obtained a fake diploma online in the name of this institution. A drug problem? Nothing insurmountable there either. The recruiter recommended a detoxification kit that would eliminate traces in case of testing. And he even drove his student to the store where he could get it.
David McSwane had taken care to record the phone conversations. He had enlisted his 11-year-old sister to take photos and a friend slightly older to hold a hidden camera. On March 17, he published his story in the Arvada high school newspaper. By the end of April, CBS television broadcast his recordings. By mid-May, the story had spread throughout the country.
Since 1973 and the end of the Vietnam War, the American army has been an army of volunteers. Today, recruitment is facing an unprecedented crisis. The Army is 6,000 recruits behind its target of 80,000 that it is supposed to fill before the end of the fiscal year in October. The 7,500 recruiters are supposed to enlist two volunteers each per month. As the school year ends, the pressure is high. Several hundred cases of overzealousness have been reported. Only seven incidents have been classified as "misconduct" by the army, but the Pentagon held an exceptional day on May 20th at the 1,700 centers across the country. Recruitment was suspended to remind them of ethics and regulations.
Recruiters have access to schools. They are in the cafeteria or at parent-teacher meetings. They offer concert or sports event tickets. Parents sometimes find them intrusive, but it is the school that provides the personal phone numbers to the military. Schools are required to provide their files to the army or risk losing their public funding. In spring, California representative Mike Honda introduced a bill to prevent student information from being transmitted to the army without the explicit consent of parents. A school district in New York that refused to comply is currently awaiting the visit of a colonel who must encourage them to cooperate.
Corine Lesnes
Article published in the edition of 01.06.05
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