Uncle Sam Wants You, But Ads Target Mom, Dad

Wall Street Journal
By YOCHI J. DREAZEN
November 29, 2007; Page B1

For the Army, it's out with "Be all you can be" and in with "Buy all you can buy."

The Army has been enlisting youths for decades by promising them money for college. Starting in January, it will try out a different sort of pitch in selected cities: offering up to $40,000 toward the purchase of a home or the creation of a business.

The Army's new plan is to win over "influencers" of potential recruits.

The new recruitment program, dubbed the "Army Advantage Fund," is meant to show parents and other adult "influencers" that Army service offers tangible benefits to young Americans. As the Iraq war continues, the Army is struggling to recruit enough new soldiers -- and such influencers are less and less likely to recommend military service to youths.

"If you want to get a soldier, you have to go through mom, and moms want to know what kind of future their children will have when they leave the Army," said Lt. Col. Jeff Sterling, the program's architect. "This is meant to answer that question in a tangible, concrete way." Read article

Female GIs complain of unequal treatment

By MATHEW D. LAPLANTE

Salt Lake Tribune
Friday, November 09, 2007

The soldiers outside her room were drunken and indignant.

"Why won't you date any of us, bitch?" Amanda Blume recalled one of the men demanded before he helped kick in her barracks door.

Inside, Blume remembered, she was surrounded, called names and pushed into a corner. Fearing for her safety, she said, she fought her way free, striking one of the men in the face on the way out.

The next week, Blume's Army commanders in Fort Sill, Okla., charged her with assault.

The exact details of what happened in the barracks on that night last March are known only to Blume and the men she has accused of attacking her. But in punishing the female soldier, Blume's male commanders followed a pattern that advocates of female service members call "epidemic" -- a pattern that nearly repeated itself again to Blume just a few months later.

Honorably discharged in early July, Blume remains proud of her military service, which began the month after she graduated from high school in 2004. As a whole, she said, the experience was positive. But it also was punctuated by moments that were alternately frightening, demeaning and unjust.

The day after Blume was attacked in her room, she was called in to see her commanding officer. "I thought he would help me, but that's not what happened," she said.

The man she'd struck had already been in to file a complaint. Read article

The Soldier and the Student

The Nation
By Aaron Glantz

[posted online on November 27, 2007]

"Join the military and go to college." That's what the recruiters say.

But the deal that today's servicemen and servicewomen get is a far cry from what their fathers and grandfathers got. When President Franklin Roosevelt signed the GI Bill into law in the waning days of World War II, he saw it as part of his New Deal program. The law, officially called the Servicemen's Readjustment Act, promised returning veterans that the government would pay the full cost of tuition and books at any public or private college or job-training program. It also provided unemployment insurance and loans to buy homes and start businesses.

By contrast, the current Montgomery GI Bill, passed in 1984, asks active duty members to accept a pay reduction of $100 per month through twelve months of military service. When they return to school, they receive $1,100 monthly for a maximum of three years of education benefits. It's an amount that doesn't come close to covering the cost of a modern college education, but it does help some veterans--if they can get through the red tape.

In July 2005, 23-year-old Paris Lee was honorably discharged after serving almost three years in the Army. A native of California's rural, picturesque North Coast where the old-growth redwoods grow, he returned home and enrolled in a free ten-week college prep program called Veterans Upward Bound at Humboldt State University. Lee was preparing to attend Humboldt State in the fall, but this past May he received a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs denying his application for the GI Bill. "They said I'm not eligible because I served thirty-five months and two days in the Army," he told me. "Normally you have to serve thirty-six months to get education benefits, so they're trying to deny me based on twenty-eight days." After the VA rejected Lee's application for GI benefits, he sent an appeal letter to the VA regional office in Muskogee, Oklahoma. While he waits for the response, the Army veteran works dealing cards for blackjack, Pai Gow and Texas hold 'em games at Blue Lake Indian Casino east of Arcata.
Read article

Life as an American Female Soldier

Marie Claire

Hair falling out, periods on hold, and peeing in a cup: for female soldiers, life on the front lines involves stuff men never have to think about.
By Tara McKelvey

I signed up for the army in June 2001, when I was 17. They were offering to pay for some of my college education. I wasn't concerned about the possibility of going to war; I just kept thinking, This is going to be cool.

Two years later, I was a sophomore at the University of Illinois in Urbana, and I got a phone call from my platoon sergeant, who said, "Your unit has been put on alert." That evening, I went to see The Vagina Monologues at a local theater with friends from my dorm. I didn't say anything about the phone call. On November 11, Veterans Day, I was told I was being deployed. I quit my part-time job at David's Bridal shop and boxed up the clothes in my dorm.

In February, I went to a base in Kuwait, where you had to wait in long lines no matter where you were: in the mess hall, bathroom, shower. You were never alone. At night, I put on headphones and played Norah Jones to block it all out. Read more

Army has Record Low Level of Recruits

Associated Press | November 01, 2007
WASHINGTON - The Army began its recruiting year Oct. 1 with fewer signed up for basic training than in any year since it became an all-volunteer service in 1973, a top general said Wednesday.

Gen. William S. Wallace, whose duties as commander of Army Training and Doctrine Command include management of recruiting, told reporters at the Pentagon that the historic dip will make it harder to achieve the full-year recruiting goal - after just barely reaching it in the year ended Sept. 30.

Achieving the Army's recruiting goals - a challenge in the best of times - is not only more difficult now but also of more consequence. That is because the Army has decided that it must grow its active-duty force by several thousand Soldiers a year in order to relieve strain on war-weary troops.

Wallace said he expects to reach the goal of 80,000 recruits, with extra effort by his recruiters.

"It's going to be another tough recruiting year," the four-star general said.

Making it even tougher is the decline in what the Army calls its delayed entry pool, which is the group of enlistees who have signed contracts to join the Army but want to wait before shipping off to basic training. Normally the Army tries to start its recruiting year with a delayed entry pool equal to about 25 percent of its full-year goal, which in this case would equate to 20,000 recruits. Read more

Anti-recruiters should have student access

This editorial appeared in the Juneau Empire today
Web posted October 28, 2007

A decision as consequential as joining the military should be made carefully with a sober understanding of what serving our country entails.

That is why the Juneau Empire believes that when military recruiters visit Juneau-Douglas High School, members of Southeast Alaska Truth in Recruiting should be allowed in as well, to represent another point of view.

Recently, National Guard recruiter Sgt. Seth Beebe asked the Juneau School Board to restrict the anti-recruiting group's access to students. He pointed to a brochure distributed by the group that states: "The atmosphere in the military encourages rape, murder and other kinds of violence against civilian women."

Beebe said such brochures make for an uncomfortable atmosphere for recruiters, and this may be arguably true. But to deny access to the anti-recruiting group would be a disservice to the students.

Southeast Alaska Truth in Recruiting, a project of the Juneau chapter of Veterans for Peace, is staffed by veterans - or family members of veterans - who can share with students their own experiences of military life. The group can give students another perspective before making the life-changing decision to join the armed services.

What the anti-recruiters do is set up a table in the school's commons every time a recruiter visits, which is three times a year as allowed by the Juneau School Distinct. Members hand out literature and talk to the occasional student who stops by the table. The group isn't aggressively vying for the attention of the students or actively protesting the recruiters' presence on campus.

But some of the literature the group passes out is questionable, and actually serves to hurt the group's credibility.

The brochure Beebe singled out was addressed to young women and is full of inflammatory statements and strained logic. In one section, the flier implies that the U.S. military uses rape as a weapon, then cites United Nations figures on rape in the Congo.

Amy Paige, who heads Southeast Alaska Truth in Recruiting, acknowledges that the brochure was a misstep. The group receives its materials from outside organizations, such as the American Friends Service Committee, the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors and the War Resisters League. Paige said perhaps the controversial flier wasn't as fully vetted by her committee as it should have been.

The group has since pulled the flier. Paige said she'd like her group to address women's issues in a future pamphlet that's not perceived as a direct attack on the military. She pointed out that her group is made up of veterans or family members of veterans who "are not ready to smear the whole military."

Some in Paige's group believe recruiters shouldn't be in the schools at all. Nevertheless, the military offers future educational opportunities in the form of scholarships and vocational training. Students have every right to this information.

We support allowing recruiters on campus, but there needs to be a check against unscrupulous recruitment. Undoubtedly, our local recruiters are upfront with students about the pros and cons of military service. Nevertheless, our military is stretched thin - fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - and the pressure on recruiters to keep the ranks full is undeniable.

Both sides need to be presented to students, but Southeast Alaska Truth in Recruiting needs to realize incendiary smears against the military hurt the group's credibility when it claims to "offer balanced information." The group needs to stick to sharing its veterans' military experiences with students and providing information on actual scholarship rates and terms of enlistment.

It's clear both sides don't want the other talking to students, but ultimately the students need to make a choice on whether to serve or not. As long as there's a fair debate, we trust the students will make the right personal decision.

Letter to the Editor: Women face risks if they join military

Web posted October 28, 2007

Whether the National Guard recruiters like it or not, young women and their parents should know that thousands of American women in uniform are being raped by their fellow soldiers. In 2005, the Veterans Administration released a 2001 study on the National Guard and Reserves. It found that 60 percent of women Reservists and National Guard had experienced some kind of sexual trauma (Washington Post on Sept. 30, 2005).

Sexual assault is so pervasive that the VA has a name for it - Military Sexual Trauma. Female soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of military sexual trauma were on the "NOW with David Brancaccio" program on Sept. 7 (pbs.org). Women are dying, losing legs and arms, and suffering brain injuries in Iraq. It's a terrible injustice that they have to watch their backs with their own countrymen.

Personal stories of military women in Iraq are in "The private war of female soldiers" by Helen Benedict (Salon.com, on March 7). One story tells of three female soldiers who died of dehydration because they refused to drink liquids late in the day. They were afraid of being raped by male soldiers if they walked to the latrines after dark. That story is in the brochure distributed at the high school.

Women report that if the commanding officer has a zero-tolerance for sexual abuse, it doesn't happen. Unlike civilians, soldiers can't choose where they work and they can't quit.

Speaking the truth isn't being against the troops. The troops include women. Juneau School Board member Margo Waring was doing her job. (Waring said in a recent meeting that military recruitment is limited to three days at Juneau-Douglas High School because it does not serve the Juneau School District's education mission. She also said the war is seen as controversial.)

Young women need this information to make an informed decision. They must weigh the benefits against the risks.

Barbara Belknap

Juneau

A Recruiter's Dream

Editorial * Chicago Tribune * October 14, 2007

The immigration debate tends to be dominated by the hard-liners on either side. There are a lot of folks, though, who have some ambivalence about the whole thing. They don't condone breaking the law, but they recognize that illegal immigrants came here for an honest purpose: to provide for their families.

That makes things especially thorny when you're dealing with the children of those immigrants. Oftentimes they're kids who were brought here as toddlers and know only one land: the U.S.

Those kids are the target of the proposed The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (for short, the Dream Act). It would give those youngsters six years of conditional legal residency in which to attend college. If they earned a two-year degree or finished two years toward a bachelor's degree, they would be eligible for a green card, allowing them to live and work here legally and to apply for citizenship.
Read entire editorial

America's Army recruiting game coming to arcades

Project YANO members have been looking at information on the new Army branded coin-op arcade game. Below is a press release from the company that is marketing it, followed by a review and photo of the machine. Note the phrasing used: The partnership will "create a new communication channel with young Americans," and the America's Army game has "penetrated culture."

I know some of you will feel sick reading about this, but it's important for us to be fully aware of such things and to educate the larger peace movement about the consequences of not confronting the Pentagon's "penetration" of our culture via schools and the mass marketing of militarism. While most people are focusing on guarding the front door, the burglar is coming in the back.

Perhaps some of you can formulate ideas for dealing with this latest development.

Rick Jahnkow www.projectyano.org (http://www.projectyano.org)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GLOBAL VR® TO DEPLOY AMERICA'S ARMY AT AAMA GALA
SAN JOSE, Calif – (July 19, 2007) – GLOBAL VR today announced that it plans to unveil the latest addition to the company's 2007 line-up of exciting titles, AMERICA'S ARMY . The AMERICA'S ARMY coin-operated game is based on the extremely popular AMERICA'S ARMY game brand which is developed by the U.S. Army and includes PC, console and cell phone games, and other branded properties. The “green label”, coin-operated AMERICA'S ARMY game is the result of a unique partnership between the U.S. Army and GLOBAL VR. The partnership which encompasses the development and manufacturing of an official U.S. Army game for the arcade market, will create a new communication channel with young Americans.
Working hand-in-hand with U.S. Army Subject Matter Experts and with the full cooperation of units of the U.S. Army, the coin-operated AMERICA'S ARMY is a realistic and engaging game centered on exciting training exercises, and includes a significant amount of authentic Army videos and other information designed to immerse the player in the Army culture.

“AMERICA'S ARMY is an arcade style training game based on actual Army training exercises designed to challenge Soldiers to hone their skills. Players are rewarded for teamwork, proper use of the Rules of Engagement, accuracy, and target identification,” says Mike Kruse, GLOBAL VR Producer. “The game's many marksmanship exercises are entirely target shooting challenges which makes this unique product appropriate for many location types that do not desire simulated combat games.” Mike went on to comment, “Being a veteran myself, I can honestly report that AMERICA'S ARMY is a highly authentic depiction of Army training exercises and the Army's unique organizational culture…down to the drill sergeant who is constantly by your side to bring out the best performance from each player.”

AMERICA'S ARMY is designed for one or two players and consists of a series of eight training mini-games. Each game is designed with a dynamic difficulty system making the game easy for new recruits and more difficult for experienced players. Bonuses are also important as they reward players with extra experiences and point rewards for jobs well done. Leader boards for each mini-game add fuel to the competition, and give players incentives to beat the top score.

We are so proud to be working directly with the U.S. Army on this project,” stated Jim DeRose GLOBAL VR President and CEO. “To have earned the Army's confidence throughout the game's development and delivered a coin-op game that fits the market needs of most video equipment operators is a huge accomplishment.

We are convinced that the cabinet's small footprint, outstanding graphics, “green label” rating, and value pricing will make the game a natural for all locations.”
For information about other GLOBAL VR products, please visit _http://www.globalvr.com/_http://www.globalvr.com/) or contact your local GLOBAL VR distributor or sales representative.
###

About the America 's Army Brand
Launched in July 2002, the America's Army game has become one of the most popular computer games in the world. America's Army has penetrated popular culture and is one of the most recognizable game brands as a result of its unique inside perspective on the U.S. Army and exciting gameplay. As the game's popularity continues to grow with each new release, the Army has expanded the brand through a variety of products to include console and wireless games, America's Army merchandise such as t-shirts and action figures, as well as training applications for use within the military and government sectors. The America 's Army game for the PC can be found online at www.americasarmy.com.

About GLOBAL VR: Founded in 1998 and headquartered in San Jose , California , GLOBAL VR® is one of the world's leading manufacturers of coin-operated video games based on home gaming technology. Through the development of proprietary technology, GLOBAL VR is able to leverage the massive investment in development of PC and console games by third party developers by making them suitable for play in out-of-home locations. Development agreements are in place with some of the world's leading game publishers including Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS ), Ubisoft, and Atari (NASDAQ:ATAR). These agreements provide GLOBAL VR rights to create coin-op versions of popular home games such as EA SPORTS™ PGA
TOUR® GOLF , Underground, NASCAR, Blazing Angels, Beach Head and Operation Blockade. In addition, GLOBAL VR also develops and manufactures products previously marketed under the UltraCade label including Global Arcade Classics and Ultrapin. More information on GLOBAL VR can be found at _http://www.globalvr.com/_ (http://www.globalvr.com/) .

America's Army recruiting game coming to arcades The US Army has developed a stand-up arcade version of its video-game "America's Army" and it will seed it in arcades around the country. This is straight out of a science fiction novel, but what would be even more skiffy is if they were to put these in arcades outside of the US. I'm surprised they're charging to play these games -- the natural thing would be to make these the only free games in the arcade, so the poorest and most desperate kids would dominate them, absorbing messages about signing up for Der Surge.

The “green label”, coin-operated AMERICA’S ARMY game is the result of a unique partnership between the U.S. Army and GLOBAL VR. The partnership which encompasses the development and manufacturing of an official U.S. Army game for the arcade market, will create a new communication channel with young Americans.

Working hand-in-hand with U.S. Army Subject Matter Experts and with the full cooperation of units of the U.S. Army, the coin-operated AMERICA’S ARMY is a realistic and engaging game centered on exciting training exercises, and includes a significant amount of authentic Army videos and other information designed to immerse the player in the Army culture.

_Link_ (http://arcadeheroes.com/2007/07/20/americas-army-coming-to-arcades/)
(via _Gizmodo_ (http://gizmodo.com/) )

Immigration and Military Enlistment: Pentagon's Push for the DREAM Act Heats Up

Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft Articles from Draft NOtices, July — September 2007

By Jorge Mariscal

"The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors, or DREAM, provision in the immigration bill is expected to help boost military recruiting.” — Bill Carr, Acting Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy.-Full Article

"I've been here almost eight years. I feel like I belong to this country," he said. "People like me, we want to serve the country. We love this country. We don't have papers. We can't afford to go to college. The military is the perfect option for us.” − Sebastián, undocumented student from Mexico

In early June, a two-pronged media cycle dealing with the issue of non-citizen soldiers and military recruitment slowly began to materialize. Following on the heels of an internal Pentagon study that reported a general decrease in interest in military service among young Americans, the debate about the role of non-citizens in the U.S. military intensified.

In the Washington Post, reporter Brigid Schulte filed a feature story titled, “Why Won't We Let Them Fill the Ranks?”, in which she described the willingness of many undocumented youth to enlist. Schulte’s piece is filled with enthusiastic comments from undocumented youth who are eager to sign up.

At one point, she depicts a group of undocumented workers cheering as the invasion of Iraq begins, apparently because the war would afford them the opportunity to enlist.

As immigration reform failed to move forward in Congress, Pentagon spokesmen made public statements about their hope that at least the DREAM Act part of the legislation would pass. In an article published by the American Forces Press Service, Acting Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Carr stated, “Talk is already taking place to see if at least the DREAM provision of the stalled bill can proceed." Full article

New school year starts in Juneau

New and returning Juneau students may wish to take advantage of the narrow window of opportunity to submit their request to withhold release of their name, address and phone number to military recruiters. The school district is required to provide military recruiters with the personal contact information of all secondary students unless the student or parent says no. It is also required to inform you and your parents of your right to keep that information from military recruiters or others. You should have received notice about your privacy rights before school opened. Students - even those under age 18 - as well as parents can sign such a request. If you missed that information in your back-to-school packet, you can find the form designed for student signature [#8330F(b)] here. Or the form designed for parent signature [8330F(a)] here.

The Making of an American Soldier: Why Young People Join the Military

By Jorge Mariscal, Sojourners. AlterNet.com

Posted June 26, 2007.

George Bush likes to say it's because they're patriots, but the truth may have more to do with financial need and recruiters targeting those with limited economic options.

In today's political climate, with two wars being fought with no end in sight, it can be difficult for some people to understand why young folks enlist in our military.

The conservative claim that most youth enlist due to patriotism and the desire to "serve one's country" is misleading. The Pentagon's own surveys show that something vague and abstract called "duty to country" motivates only a portion of enlistees.

The vast majority of young people wind up in the military for different reasons, ranging from economic pressure to the desire to escape a dead-end situation at home to the promise of citizenship.

Over all, disenfranchisement may be one of the most accurate words for why some youth enlist.

Read more

Documentary: Law gives military access to student data

By David Goldstein | McClatchy Newspapers | Posted on Tue, June 19, 2007

WASHINGTON — It began as a class assignment for Alexia Welch and Sarah Ybarra: Make a five-minute video news story about advertising in public schools.

But the Lawrence, Kan., teenagers' project snowballed into a 25-minute documentary on how the federal No Child Left Behind law to improve education promotes military recruitment, infringes on students' privacy and encourages school officials to look the other way.

The movie's fans include a Democratic California congressman who's been trying to change the law for two years and award-winning liberal filmmaker Robert Greenwald, who viewed some early rushes and offered the pair his lawyer's services, just in case.

Their film, "No Child Left Unrecruited," premiered in April at an arts center in Lawrence, the home of the University of Kansas. A short trailer on YouTube has gotten 630 hits in the past month, and the film made its Washington debut Tuesday.

"We found out this wasn't a school assignment anymore," said 17-year-old Ybarra, who'll be a senior next fall at Lawrence High School. "This was going to go beyond the walls of the district."

Read more

Seattle Students Shut Down School Board Demanding Military Recruiters Out of Schools

By Philip Locker, Dylan Simpson, and Marianne Mork
June 21, 2007

“What do we want? Recruiters out! When do we want it? Now!” chanted over 70 antiwar protestors as we marched into to the Seattle School Board meeting Wednesday night. The spirited protest, called by Youth Against War and Racism (YAWR), demanded the school board finally take real action against military recruitment in our schools. As the local TV news King 5 said, it was “intended to be political high theatre, and it certainly was effective.” Another reporter commented: “it was the most dramatic anti-military recruitment rally to date.”

YAWR is calling for military recruiters to be banned from Seattle public schools. But to stay within the legal paramaters of the “No Child Left Behind” law, we are demanding that all recruiting be done at a district-wide recruitment fair once a semester. This would create equity between the access to students that the military, college, and job recruiters have. Currently, military recruiters have a massive budget and a huge advantage over college and job recruiters. A district-wide recruitment fair would also stop military recruiters from carrying out their predatory tactics within our schools and disproportionate targeting of schools that are predominantly made up of poor and minority students.

Read more

Links to Mainstream Media Coverage
KOMO 4 Video coverage: http://www.komotv.com/news/8105247.html (click WATCH THE STORY below the picture)

King 5 Video coverage: http://www.king5.com/video/featured-index.html?nvid=153224

Seattle Times: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003756523_assignment21m.html

NCLB and the Military: A California teacher union passes antirecruitment resolution

ZNet, by Gregory Sotir of Rethinking Schools June 3, 2007

The British navy used to use trapdoors in barrooms to capture recruits to maintain its colonial empire. The U.S. military doesn't need these tricks. It has No Child Left Behind.

Section 9528, the 300 or so words buried within the act's 670 pages, cement militarism in public schools. This section's provisions funnel private student data such as telephone numbers and home addresses into the Pentagon for military recruitment purposes and also mandate access for military recruiters to students in public secondary schools.

As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have dragged on, recruiters have become increasingly aggressive on campus. Data from student information provided via Section 9528 are used for recruiter home visits and repetitive phone calls to students. Military recruiters also use high-pressure sales techniques, flashy videos, and eye-candy trinkets, and bring he-man danger mobiles such as Hummers and helicopters onto school grounds to attract students, especially young males. At the beginning of this school year, the Los Angeles-based Coalition Against Militarism In Our Schools (CAMS), a group that I work with, decided to get the word out about Section 9528.
Read article

Fewer high-quality Army recruits

As war needs rise, exam scores drop

By Bryan Bender and Kevin Baron, Globe Correspondent | June 1, 2007 | Boston Globe

WASHINGTON -- The percentage of high-quality recruits entering the Army is the lowest in 10 years, an indication that the force is struggling to attract top-grade enlistees -- and a troubling sign for the Pentagon, which is waging wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and plans to add 90,000 ground troops to its ranks within the next five years.

Over the past decade, the percentage of top-level recruits who enlisted in the Army was mostly consistent, dipping slightly at the end of the 1990s before spiking in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But since 2003 -- the same year the US invaded Iraq -- the Army has steadily taken in more recruits that the force itself considers "non-high quality."

Last year, nearly 40 percent of those who joined the Army had below-average verbal and math scores on the Armed Forces Qualification Test, a mandatory exam that helps the military determine a recruit's aptitude and mental proficiency. In 2003, the Army accepted only 28.9 percent of the low-scoring recruits, but that percentage gradually began to rise in subsequent years, according to Army statistics.

Read article

“Know All You Can Know” Before You Enlist!

What are we telling young people? You wouldn’t buy a car without taking a look at its record for reliability and safety. If you are considering military service, it is important to understand what you are signing up for. The military is a job you cannot quit. Joining the military is a serious decision, and we urge people making choices about the next stage of their lives to be informed and careful.

Who are we to criticize the military? We believe that if the military is a volunteer force, everyone who joins should be a true volunteer. No one should join the military without deciding that he or she is willing to kill and die in a war. SEATIR encourages people thinking about joining the military to research, ask questions, take time and know all they can know before making a decision to enlist.

Where do we get our information? Our sources include, among others, the U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs and newspapers such as the Army Times, as well as academic studies. The information is gathered by organizations including the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Veterans for Peace, the War Resisters League and the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors (CCCO). This year, the CCCO estimates it has received about 10,000 calls from personnel who want to get out of the military.

The Women’s War

From The New York Times

Katy Grannan for The New York Times;

Suzanne Swift Just before she was to leave for her second tour in Iraq, she told her mother: "I can't do this. I can't go back there."

By SARA CORBETT

Published: March 18, 2007

Editors' Note Appended

On the morning of Monday, Jan. 9, 2006, a 21-year-old Army specialist named Suzanne Swift went AWOL. Her unit, the 54th Military Police Company, out of Fort Lewis, Wash., was two days away from leaving for Iraq. Swift and her platoon had been home less than a year, having completed one 12-month tour of duty in February 2005, and now the rumor was that they were headed to Baghdad to run a detention center. The footlockers were packed. The company's 130 soldiers had been granted a weekend leave in order to go where they needed to go, to say whatever goodbyes needed saying. When they reassembled at 7 a.m. that Monday, uniformed and standing in immaculate rows, Specialist Swift, who during the first deployment drove a Humvee on combat patrols near Karbala, was not among them.

Swift would later say that she had every intention of going back to Iraq. But in the weeks leading up to the departure date, she started to feel increasingly anxious. She was irritable, had trouble sleeping at night, picked fights with friends, drank heavily. ''I was having a lot of little freakouts,'' she told me when I went to visit her in Washington State last summer. ''But I was also ready to go. I was like, 'O.K., I can do this.''' Read article

The private war of women soldiers

Many female soldiers say they are sexually assaulted by their male comrades and can't trust the military to protect them. "The knife wasn't for the Iraqis," says one woman. "It was for the guys on my own side."

Editor's note: This story has been corrected since it was originally published.

By Helen Benedict

March 7, 2007 | As thousands of burned-out soldiers prepare to return to Iraq to fill President Bush's unwelcome call for at least 20,000 more troops, I can't help wondering what the women among those troops will have to face. And I don't mean only the hardships of war, the killing of civilians, the bombs and mortars, the heat and sleeplessness and fear.

I mean from their own comrades -- the men.

I have talked to more than 20 female veterans of the Iraq war in the past few months, interviewing them for up to 10 hours each for a book I am writing on the topic, and every one of them said the danger of rape by other soldiers is so widely recognized in Iraq that their officers routinely told them not to go to the latrines or showers without another woman for protection.

The female soldiers who were at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, for example, where U.S. troops go to demobilize, told me they were warned not to go out at night alone. Read article