United States of America

Mon

Jan

2015

There Is No Future in War: Youth Rise Up, a Manifesto

New translation available

A peace sign printed on the American Flag is raised during a protest against the Vietnam War in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Archive / History Channel)

Submitted by Gary

Statement written by Ben Norton, Tyra Walker, Anastasia Taylor, Alli McCracken, Colleen Moore, Jes Grobman, Ashley Lopez / Codepink -

Once again, US politicians and pundits are beating the drums of...

Wed

Feb

America's Child Soldiers: JROTC and the Militarizing of America

Submitted by Gary on Wed, 04/02/2015 - 13:07

By Ann Jones

Congress surely meant to do the right thing when, in the fall of 2008, it passed the Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA). The law was designed to protect kids worldwide from being forced to fight the wars of Big Men. From then on, any country that coerced children into becoming soldiers was supposed to lose all U.S. military aid.

It turned out, however, that Congress -- in its rare moment of concern for the next generation -- had it all wrong. In its greater wisdom, the White House found countries like Chad and Yemen so vital to the national interest of the United States that it preferred to overlook what happened to the children in their midst.

Mon

Feb

Hansel and Gretel at the Military Recruiter

Submitted by antimili-youth on Mon, 02/02/2015 - 17:08

Military recruiters must feel like Hansel and Gretel’s “wicked witch,” fattening up the children to eat them. With sexual violence, endless wars of occupation, fatalities, brain trauma, permanent disabilities and an epidemic of suicides, what they’re selling these days looks like a lot like a bad horror show.

With the chance of being sent into quagmires in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, etc. on one hand, the likelihood of being sexually assaulted on the other three-fourths and the specter of suicide among vets of all stripes¾you have to wonder how recruiters get anyone in the door. Newbies must not be reading the papers; all four active-duty services and five out of six reserve components met their recruiting goals in 2014, according to the Pentagon.

Fri

Jan

What Every Girl Should Know About the U.S. Military: Consider This – Before You Enlist

Submitted by hannah on Fri, 23/01/2015 - 11:52

What Every Girl Should Know About the U.S. Military: Consider This – Before You Enlist Co-published by the Women of Color Resource Center and the War Resisters League. Written for young women and featuring the voices of women veterans, this full color pamphlet is perfect for distributing at schools and community centers. Copies are available for $0.15 each plus 20% shipping from War Resisters League.

Download here

Mon

Jan

Army recruitment office told to remove ‘God and Country’ poster

Submitted by hannah on Mon, 19/01/2015 - 12:24

By Kellan Howell - The Washington Times - Saturday, January 17, 2015

A poster with the message “On a mission for both God and Country” on display outside a recruiting station in Phoenix was removed Friday morning after it was brought to the attention of the the Army Recruiting Command.

Tue

Jan

Don't Go!

Submitted by Gary on Tue, 13/01/2015 - 15:35

Classic antiwar animation that portrays the tragedy and loss of participation in the act of war from the perspective and innocence of a soldier in combat.

Don't Go!

Tue

Jan

Alternatives to the Military – Lincoln

Tue

Jan

Truth and Alternatives to Militarism in Education

Truth and Alternatives to Militarism in Education (TAME) mission is to raise awareness of the ways by which militarism encourages violence, consumes resources, and threatens our well-being.

We present critical perspectives on the role of the military and the idealized portrayal of war to youth in particular, parents, educators, and the public in general.

We work to expose the negative aspects of a military presence and an ongoing recruitment in our educational institutions, including the system of promises and inducements used to entice young people into the military.

Tue

Jan

Before You Enlist! The Real Deal in Joining the Military

Submitted by hannah on Tue, 13/01/2015 - 12:30

Straight talk from soldiers, veterans and their family members tells what is missing from the sales pitches presented by recruiters and the military's marketing efforts. Produced by Telequest, Inc with support from AFSC. See http://youth4peace.org for more info.

Source: http://www.beforeyouenlist.org/

Before You Enlist! The Real Deal in Joining the Military

Wed

Dec

Counter-recruitment Resources

Submitted by hannah on Wed, 17/12/2014 - 15:47

DOWNLOAD THE KIT

The kit is a catalog of basic material useful to educating young people and school personnel about the realities of military enlistment and war. The catalog also includes some information on alternatives to enlistment, as well as items written for organizers seeking to reach out to local schools.

All of the material in this catalog was carefully reviewed for relevancy and accuracy as of the summer of 2014. A task force of knowledgeable organizers did the research. It does not include all of the available literature on this topic because much of what exists is out of date or is no longer being produced by the original sources. Consequently, we focused on identifying items that we felt were basic and most useful for effective organizing and educating. New items may be added to future kits as they become available.

Wed

Dec

Hollywood’s role in recruiting for US military

Submitted by hannah on Wed, 17/12/2014 - 12:34

WATCH THE VIDEO

American teenage children are being tracked, targeted, and sometimes captured by a global military industrial media complex.

Parents of teens are seldom aware of how their children are at the rising risk of being systematically targeted, manipulated and psychologically remodeled for use within the war-machine.

Across the military, there is a wide-speared belief that positive media images correlate with higher recruitment and retention rates.

In this edition of the Hollywood Cut, we will examine the role of Hollywood in recruiting for the US military.

AY/MHB

Source: PressTV

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Countering Military Recruitment

WRI's new booklet, Countering Military Recruitment: Learning the lessons of counter-recruitment campaigns internationally, is out now. The booklet includes examples of campaigning against youth militarisation across different countries with the contribution of grassroot activists.

You can order a paperback version here.