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...

Fri

Feb

Changing Military Recruitment Policies in Schools: One Phone Call and Email at a Time

Submitted by antimili-youth on Fri, 27/02/2015 - 17:35

The Experiences of a Santa Barbara Mother in Finding Alternatives Are Inspiring

By Kate Connell / Draft NOtices

In the spring of 2014, I went to observe a career day at Santa Barbara High School, where my son is enrolled. There were a variety of organizations with representatives and literature tables. The Marines and the Navy recruiters were also there. They were soliciting student contact information.

Tue

Feb

Local-born doctor: Military structures young lives

Submitted by Gary on Tue, 24/02/2015 - 16:38

Asia Burns, left, and Arlonzo Chism stand in formation during ROTC at Woodlawn High School. (Photo: Henrietta Wildsmith/The Times)

A former Shreveporter who left a troubled family here to serve as a combat medic in Iraq, and who later served as a new doctor combating Ebola in west Africa, will speak in his home town later this week and sign copies of his new book.

"My mom was in prison most of my life, and my sister did time," says Antonio Webb, 32, who now is in his residency as an orthopedic surgeon in San Antonio, Texas. He grew up in the Allendale, Queensborough and Meadows neighborhood off Jewella Avenue.

"My dad did the best he could as a single parent to keep us isolated from what was going on. I was lucky in that I left Shreveport at an early age, 17, after I graduated from high school. If I'd have stayed in Shreveport there would have been a different outcome."

Thu

Feb

Project YANO

Project YANO is a California based nonprofit community organization that provides young people with an alternative point of view about military enlistment. Many of the organisation's members are armed forces veterans who believe that high school students are getting a distorted picture of the military and war from recruiting ads and marketing.

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.

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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.