United States of America

Mon
5
Jan
2015
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...

Thu
28
Aug

In addition to recruiting visit, Marines volunteer to run P.E. classes at Gaston Jr/Sr High School

Photo: Samantha Swindler/The Oregonian

Members of the U.S. Marine Corps have visited Gaston Jr/Sr High School three times this year, but only one of those visits was considered to be for recruiting.

For two separate days in May, Marines volunteered on a school cleanup day and to run P.E. classes for high school students. During the classes, of which some opted out of participating, students went around to stations and did typical P.E. activities such as running and hitting a ball. Students also did group exercises such as dragging a peer on the ground or carrying a classmate over their shoulder. 

Those military style group exercises sparked concern from some community members.

Wed
27
Aug

Social media monitoring helps with military recruitment

With so many people active on social media these days, the information obtained simply by listening to the conversations can be invaluable. Many organizations are finding innovative ways to use this data, such as the Army and Air National Guard divisions of the U.S. military.

According to InsuranceNewsNet, the National Guard used social media monitoring to bolster its recruiting efforts.

"We were able to combine traditional recruiting tactics with social media communications by developing a 'social listening' program," said Mike Schaffer, who served as social media director for iostudio, the company that helped craft the Guard's presence within the social media space. "When anyone asked on Twitter about joining the military, for example, we made sure the National Guard was the first branch to respond."

Fri
15
Aug

Five ways to counter military recruitment in your school district

How can you help stop the intrusion of the military into people’s lives?

Here are five ways to take action:

Campaign for an ordinance for equal access in your school district.

Equal access mandates that for each military recruitment session done in the district’s schools, peace groups are allowed equal time and access to the students to offer alternatives to enlistment. See examples of other successful campaigns and how-to organizing guides

Distribute opt-out forms at local high schools.

At the beginning of the school year, parents have the option to opt-out of allowing their children to be contacted by military recruiters. You can download opt-out forms to distribute.

Tue
12
Aug

Example: Committee on the Rights of the Child on the USA

CRC/C/SR.1321 5 June 2008 (Summary record)

CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS OF STATES PARTIES (continued)

Initial report of the United States of America under the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict (CRC/C/OPAC/USA/1, CRC/C/OPAC/USA/Q/1 and Add.1, written replies by the United States of America, document without a symbol distributed in English only) (continued)

1. At the invitation of the Chairperson, the members of the delegation of the United Statesof America resumed places at the Committee table.

Tue
12
Aug

Civilian Ally: Veterans as an Affected Population

This manual focuses on building the GI resistance movement, and doing so requires an understanding of how veterans are directly impacted by war and militarism. Civilian organizers need this awareness in order to to build relationships and organize effectively in the military community. Below we explore veterans’ experiences with the military.

Mon
11
Aug

Counter-recruitment in the United States

With a seemingly endless war on terrorism gnawing away at the possibility for a lasting peace many activists in the United Sates are finding that they are drawn to a form of activism that deals with the relationship that young people have to militarism. The work is called, counter military recruitment or counter-recruitment for short, and it primary focus is to demilitarise a nation by attempting to first demilitarise the minds of its youth.

Wed
19
Mar

War College says Courage to Resist impedes recruiting

Source: http://couragetoresist.org/news/1018-war-college.html

By Mike Mckee, Courage to Resist. March 17, 2014

A recently circulated academic paper from a U.S. Army War College research fellow demonstrates that organizations like Courage to Resist are having a substantive effect on the military’s ability to recruit and retain soldiers.

The paper, titled “Civilian Organizational Inhibitors to US Army Recruiting and the Road Ahead (PDF),” singles out Courage to Resist as a key example of its most formidable opponents that “aim to hinder, deter, or prevent United States Army Recruiters from presenting information and providing opportunities to their target market.”

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