National Day of Action: Army "Stands Down," Peace Activists Stand Up!

[ElsewheresDaughter]

FRIDAY, MAY 20th:




-Make a call to congress
-Organize an event at a local recruiting station

Busted!
This Friday, May 20, every military recruiting center across the country will be closed for what the U.S. Army Recruiting Command calls an “Army Values Stand Down Day.” The so-called “stand down” will be a retraining in ethics for the military’s 7,500 recruiters, following a rash of complaints that recruiters are resorting to unscrupulous tactics to enlist new soldiers. Highlights of recruiter’s lies include:

-- A Houston Army recruiter threatened to arrest a local young man if he didn't report that day to the army recruiting station. This case was exposed by Houston's 11 News Defenders.

-- A CodePink activist met with an Army recruiter in Oakland to find out what the military could provide her if she was interested in getting a college education and traveling the world. The recruiter squelched her fears of getting sent to Iraq by assuring her that if she liked, she could serve in Europe. He added that women are not engaged in combat, and that if they return home wounded, it is probably because they were out for a “joyride in a Hummer.”

The Army has investigated 480 allegations of impropriety by recruiters since October 1, 2004. Some of these cases are still open while 91 of the 480 allegations have thus far been considered founded. To date, eight recruiters have been relieved of duty and another 98 have been reprimanded by their commands. According to the US Army, “a Stand Down is a time when Recruiting Command takes a pause from the important task of recruiting.” We say to the Army, “Don’t pause, stop!”

This Friday, the Army stands down, but we stand up! On May 20th, UFPJ, CODEPINK, AFSC and US Campus Anti-War Network are calling on you to stand up for the demilitarization of youth. Stand up for student’s rights to privacy from the military.

1) Call your representatives, urge them to support Mike Honda's “Student Privacy Protection Act,” H.R. 551. This bill would allow students and parents to choose to provide the military with their contact information, an “Opt-in” policy, rather than the current “Opt-out” version which automatically gives recruiters access to students’ information, unless parents specifically file paperwork to “Opt-out.”

-identify your local reps http://www.house.gov/

-find their phone numbers http://clerk.house.gov/members/index.html

2) Organize a demonstration at a local recruiting station. Invite the press.

Stand UP against predatory recruiters! Stand UP against the poverty draft! Stand UP for money for college, not combat! Stand UP for our troops in Iraq—Bring them home! Stand UP against war profiteers! Stop this war (and the next one!) now, by stopping the next generation from becoming cannon fodder!

3) Find an action near you. American Friends Service Committee has compiled a calendar of counter-recruitment events on May 20th.
http://www.afsc.org/youthmil/actions.htm
1) UFPJ's list of counter-military recruitment campaign resources http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=2332
2) American Friends Service Committee: Campaign on Youth and Militarism http://www.afsc.org/youthmil/
3) "Army Recruiters Play Hardball", CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/05/10/eveningnews/main694345_page2.shtml
4) "11 News Defenders Report Leads to Nationwide Army Stand-Down"
5) H.R. 551: "Student Privacy Protection Act" http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:h.r.00551:/

[prodigal_green]

1. I think one of the most awesome aspect of the recruiter's cheating

is that it was blown open (i.e., caught the attention of the MSM) by a HIGH SCHOOL newspaper!

This gives me hope for the future of journalism.