Education-Military-Industrial Complex

The US Military influences higher education through a variety of mechanisms

The US military regards colleges as a crucial component of their defence strategy, and has developed a well-resourced and sophisticated position of influence within the US higher education system. Campuses have become an extension of the US military complex and key sties for recruitment, training, and military research.

Student Militias - The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC)

Founded in 1916, the ROTC exists in over 1,000 US colleges, and provides military training to students, with the aim of producing the next generation of armed forces officers. ROTC Students are provided with a scholarship to college, on the condition that they complete four years of active military service once they graduate. ROTC graduates also serve an additional four years in the reserves after their active service.

STUDENTS who staged a spontaneous peace protest at an armed forces recruitment stand at their university were threatened with arrest yesterday.

The students say they were intimidated by military recruiters, university staff and security guards who called the police. One protester was told: “Go back to Greece.”

The Royal Navy, navy reserves and Royal Air Force were running a recruitment stand at the University of Bradford’s annual spring careers fair.

Protester and biomedical science student Beth Davies said: “This was just a group of students. We saw what was going on and decided something should be done about it.

“The military called security and security threatened to call the police.

“Nobody was arrested because we left before the police arrived.”

The protesters said one foreign student’s identification card was confiscated by security guards, leaving him unable to attend lectures and facing possible exclusion from exams.

The Troops to Teachers programme is being extended to give more former service personnel who do not have degrees the chance to become teachers.

The programme is a route into teaching for those leaving the armed services who have gained qualifications or relevant experience such as teaching, instructing or mentoring through their jobs. It is a salaried, two-year training programme based in schools.

Last year, 95 former personnel joined the scheme. Today education secretary Nicky Morgan announced that the scheme will continue to recruit trainees in September 2015 and September 2016.

Ms Morgan said: “At a visit to a recent study week, I was able to see for myself the high calibre of the current trainees and the wealth of skills they can bring to teaching, including leadership, teamwork, resilience and the ability to inspire and engage.”