Letter: Military recruiting pitch is racist
May 25, 2007
Why do we have ROTC and Military Academies in the Chicago Public Schools? As we know, the army is currently conducting a brutal war against the Iraqi people which has resulted in more than 3000 deaths of U.S. soldiers and 650,000 Iraqi civilian casualties. Is this the future we want for our students: to kill or be killed? The School Board in San Francisco recently abolished ROTC, as have other school boards across the country. We can get rid of it here too.
According to “Why Question the Military’s JROTC program?”, _http://www. objector http:// www. http://w_ (http://www. objector. org/ jrotc/ why.html) , “Fifty-four percent of JROTC participants nationwide are students of color. JROTC graduates are recruited directly into the lowest military ranks. The military targets low-income schools in the same way tobacco & alcohol companies target low-income communities. The results are equally deadly. Half the military’s front-line troops are people of color.”
The Army is targeting African-American and Hispanic working class students. You will not find ROTC at New Trier High School! According to the Army website https://gateway. https://gate https://ghttps:// ghttps:// gate https://gaht_ (https:// gateway. us army jrotc. com/http:// portal.usarmy jrotc. com/jrotc/dt) there are 46 schools in Illinois (36 of them in Chicago) with JROTC. Fifteen of them are 99 or 100% Black, 8 others are predominately Black. Half the schools in Illinois with JROTC are all or predominately African-American! 11 are predominately Hispanic, 8 are integrated (no more than 50% of any group) and 3 are mostly white (information not available for one school).
The “volunteer army”, which is really an economic draft, is disproportionately African-American. According to another Army website, _http:// www.armyg1.http://wwhttp:// www.armyghttp:// www.ahttp:// wwwhtt_ (http://www. armyg1. army.mil/hr/ demographics/ FY05%20 Army%20 Profile.pdf) , 22% of all active duty soldiers and 37% of the women soldiers are African-American. Close to half of all active duty women are either Black or Hispanic! Why should we enable these racist inequities by involving our students in ROTC? JROTC claims they are not recruiting for the army. However, 40% of JROTC students eventually join the army, according to Defense Department figures. An
Army memorandum directs JROTC staff to “actively assist cadets who want to enlist in the military [and] emphasize service in the U.S. Army; facilitate recruiter access to cadets in jrotc program and to the entire student body...[and] work closely with high school guidance counselors to sell the Army story.” JROTC claims to be teaching leadership, but according to Lt. Colonel Frank Houde, who retired after 20 years in the Air Force, “It misrepresents itself to kids in their formative years. The people who are for this often say it is ‘leadership’ training, but it is really followership training. Most people who go into jrotc will not become officers. They will receive dead-end jobs and a low rank. If you do go into the military, it will ensure that you are on the front lines and could get killed.” (source for this information: “Recruiting the Class of 2005”, Mother Jones Magazine, _http://www. motherjohttp://www. mhttp:// wwwhttp://www.http:// wwhttp://www. mothehttp: //www.http:/ www.mohttp://www.m_ (http://www. Mother jones.com/cgibin/ print_article .pl?url=http:// www.motherjones .com /news /feature/2002/01 /rotc.html) .)
The other side says that the Army represents opportunities for young African-Americans and provides discipline. We can do better than that! We can provide opportunities and discipline through other means. The Army, whose purpose is to secure U.S. interests through the use of force, is not the way to give our students a good future. There are many other avenues for students. Let’s beef up our other options and get rid of ROTC.
Carol Caref, Teacher
Chicago Vocational Career Academy High School, Chicago
Comments:
By: Dani
JROTC
Hear, Hear Dee...
My white daughter has been in the program for 3 years and loves it. She is in it for the leadship skills and the camaraderie. She really has no intentions of going into the service and they do not pressure their students in any way.
By: ARNY STIEBER
The military and CPS
The military model is conflict resolution by violence. Over $600M of our tax dollars are spent each year promoting (TV ads, billboards, give-aways, etc) the military. Thus we are led to believe that the military is about "leadership", "discipline", "democracy" and "freedom". The military is about death and destruction. Wars are about money and markets and the military is the main pawn. Glorification and recognition are the main promotion tools. The Chicago Chapter of Veterans For Peace believe our youth are too precious to waste on the military. See www.NoMilitary.org for more information.
By: albert korach
military & ROTC
Here we go again It"s time to dump on the ROTC & the Military by individuals that do not remember the rush to get ready after Pearl Harbor. No one goes into Jr. ROTC without parental consent. As a former high school ROTC
Cadet I learned discipline, neatness, team work and not to go to a job interview with my pants hanging an inch above my crotch.I'm sorry to say that my ROTC career only lasted one semester. I completed my teaching career with a graduate degree from the University of Chicago. I completed my military career as a Lt. Colonel with my political leanings a little left of center.The military places a great emphasis on education. While on active duty I attended and completed the Asst. Battalion Surgeons Course, Atomic Warfare and other schools. I remember that when the army was integrated I had assigned a back roommate and a lifelong friend. My service did not harm me but made me a better human being. While in ROTC I had no time for "Gang Banging" or other stupid activities. I also served as the Retiree Editor for Substance. I was on the Chicago Teacher's Unions Executive Board and VP of the Teacher Pension Fund So I'm hopeful you will see that military experience can be helpful.
By: Dee
ROTC
Excuse me, Carol. But, I came across your article while I was looking for ROTC program for my son who will be going to New Trier. If 54% of JROTC participants nationwide are of color then the other nearly half are white...JROTC and ROTC provide structure and discipline that may be lacking in a child\\\'s environment. My son is white and I believe that learning the lessons of discipline and leadership will help him in no matter what he decides to do in his life. It is very naive to believe that we do not need an Army or Airforce or Marines to protect our country. Have you been to other parts of the world where there is no balance of power? I am not afraid of teaching my son the mechanics of the military. We need great people and minds in the military,as well...perhaps then what we all want, a more conscienous group of rulers can emerge. You may be tooting your racist horn and be hitting a sour note...think about what you really are saying and what you want for these kids... what are the alternatives that you offer? For many children JROTC and ROTC is a great fit. Get rid of it? Absolutely NOT. And P.S. there is ROTC for children from New Trier.