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...

Sun

Apr

Military recruiting in public schools can be disruptive

Submitted by Gary on Sun, 03/04/2016 - 21:16

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 11: Members of the U.S. Navy march with the American Flag in the the nation's largest Veterans Day Parade in New York City on November 11, 2015 in New York City. Known as "America's Parade" it features over 20,000 participants, including veterans of numerous eras, military units, businesses and high school bands and civic and youth groups. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) (Credit: Getty Images / Spencer Platt)

By J.B. McGeever

The local Army recruiter is at my classroom door, and I wish he’d stop doing this. He needs to speak to a student in my English class at Jamaica High School.

When I explain that there are designated areas for him to speak with potential recruits, he apologizes. In fact, his etiquette is always spit-shined and gleaming, like something he’s learned at a seminar. He shows me his visitor’s pass, smoothed against a lapel, and apologizes once more. Never again, he says. It’s just that this time it’s important. Could he please have a word with Ernesto?

I like to believe I have the final say on these matters, but Ernesto is already out of his seat and calling the man “sir.” His slouch has been corrected and a hand keeps his jeans from dropping below the waist. They shake hands and a heartbreaking glow washes over his face. I shut the door while they confer in the hallway.

Sun

Mar

Center on Conscience & War

The Center on Conscience & War is a non-profit organization that advocates for the rights of conscience, opposes military conscription, and serves all conscientious objectors to war.

Mon

Mar

Chicago Veterans Launch 'Education Not Militarization' Campaign

Submitted by hannah on Mon, 07/03/2016 - 16:25

The Chicago chapter of Veterans for Peace is rolling out a billboard campaign Monday aimed at sparking a conversation about "the epidemic of militarization" in the city's schools..

The billboard campaign is also meant to "dispel the myth that militarization is about 'leadership' and 'patriotism,'" the group said in a statement.

Messages such as "Veterans Say - Military Out of CPS" and "Veterans Say - Education Not Militarization" will appear in rotating advertising displays of 38 digital billboards across Chicago neighborhoods through May, according to the Chicago VFP. The billboard messages will include the web address NoMilitary.org, which includes more information on the group's "Education Not Militarization" initiative.

According to the group, some 10,000 CPS students receive military training.

Mon

Mar

Education not militarization

'We, the Chicago Chapter of Veterans for Peace, are pursuing a many-pronged campaign to bring Peace at Home, Peace Abroad by focusing on youth and the demilitarization of public education.'

Fri

Feb

The Violence Behind The Words 'Be a Man'

Submitted by Gary on Fri, 12/02/2016 - 16:16

By Katherine Marrone - Alternet

Fri

Feb

Why Is My Kindergartner Being Groomed for the Military at School?

Submitted by Gary on Fri, 05/02/2016 - 13:23

Military recruitment efforts, whether societal or sponsored directly by the US military, reach children as young as preschool, priming them to think of war and soldiering as cool and exciting, without any discussion of the trauma and death they bring. (Image: Jared Rodriguez / Truthout)

By Sarah Grey, Truthout

When he got home from Iraq, Hart Viges began sorting through his boyhood toys, looking for some he could pass on to his new baby nephew. He found a stash of G.I. Joes - his old favorites - and the memories came flooding back.

Tue

Jan

SkoolLive - School Jive - A new, interactive digital invasion of our high schools by corporations and the military

Submitted by Gary on Tue, 19/01/2016 - 18:42

High school students line up to use the new SkoolLive kiosks

Pat Elder -

For years DOD recruiting commanders have attempted to circumvent student privacy protections that are designed to shield minors from the wholesale transfer of student information from the nation's high schools to the Pentagon's Military Entrance Processing Command.

The DOD markets "career opportunities" through the schools, relying on a variety of methods, from Channel One, a 12-minute, highly commercialized, daily TV program that reaches as many as 5 million children a day, to various posters and announcements touting military service or other schemes like the Career Exploration Program. For the most part, however, these outreach efforts ultimately rely on the schools as a third party from which to extract student data. Until now, the DOD's quest for greater access to children has been somewhat stymied by pesky state and federal laws that regulate the flow of student information from the schools.

Tue

Dec

US Soldiers Forced To Retire After Refusing Orders to Ignore Children Being Raped by Police Officers

Submitted by antimili-youth on Tue, 15/12/2015 - 12:40

By M. David and M.A. Hussein, Counter Current News

Imagine that you witnessed child sexual abuse while on the job, but your boss told you not to do anything to stop it. Now imagine that your boss was the United States government.

That’s exactly what happened to Lance Cpl. Gregory Buckley Jr.

In his last phone call, he told his father about what had been happening in Southern Afghanistan. He said he could hear Afghan police officers raping and sexually abusing boys brought to the base.

“At night we can hear them screaming, but we’re not allowed to do anything about it,” the Marine’s father, Gregory Buckley Sr., said his son told him before being shot and killed a the base.

Sat

Dec

AFSC & Bay Peace Presents Youth Manifesto

Submitted by Gary on Sat, 12/12/2015 - 17:22

American Friends Service Committee and its San Francisco Wage Peace Program staff in partnership with BAY-Peace of Oakland California, have been supporting Oakland Youth in taking a bold step to demilitarize their schools.

The San Francisco Wage Peace program challenges the militarization of U.S. society, changing the narrative of military efficacy by:

AFSC & Bay Peace Presents Youth Manifesto

Thu

Nov

DoD Starbase Militarizes Education for Disadvantaged Children in the USA

Submitted by Gary on Thu, 26/11/2015 - 17:55

The U.S. Department of Defense recently released their 2014 DoD Starbase Annual Report covering this program's impact on 10 to 14 year old children in U.S. public schools. One of the Starbase organizers is Major General Lee Tafanelli, of the Kansas National Guard, and his comments reveal how normalized and commonplace has become the language of militarization inside U.S. Schools. As part of the "community covenant " strategy of the Pentagon to "own" townships and school districts to support and participate in military focused science and math programs, children are now openly given science education directly related to defense issues. Starbase proponents focus their outreach in poorer districts , where children are at greater risk to conditions of poverty or lack opportunities afforded to youth living in more affluent areas and attending better funded schools.

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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.