Forced Military Testing in America's Schools

[ensho]

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/01/04-0


The invasion of student privacy associated with military testing in U.S. high schools has been well documented by mainstream media sources, like USA Today and NPR Radio. The practice of mandatory testing, however, continues largely unnoticed.

The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or ASVAB is the military's entrance exam that is given to fresh recruits to determine their aptitude for various military occupations. The test is also used as a recruiting tool in 12,000 high schools across the country. The 3 hour test is used by military recruiting services to gain sensitive, personal information on more than 660,000 high school students across the country every year, the vast majority of whom are under the age of 18. Students typically are given the test at school without parental knowledge or consent. The school-based ASVAB Career Exploration Program is among the military's most effective recruiting tools.

In roughly 11,000 high schools where the ASVAB is administered, students are strongly encouraged to take the test for its alleged value as a career exploration tool, but in more than 1,000 schools, according to information received from the U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command through a Freedom of Information Act request, tens of thousands of students are required to take it. It is a particularly egregious violation of civil liberties that has been going on almost entirely unnoticed since the late 1960's.

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There is great reluctance in American society to stand up to the U.S. military, particularly concerning the way it runs a dozen programs in the nation's schools. Calls for transparency are met with silence and indignation, a terrible lesson for American high school students.
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military should not be, in any form, in our public schools

except free concerts by a military band of non military music

[ensho]

2. and maiming and death

and knowing you are being trained to murder people

[ProgressiveProfessor]

3. Military combat is not murder

It is not a minor point.

[MadHound]

4. In some cases it is

Mi Lai is but one example. The firebombing of Dresden and Tokyo could be considered other examples. Not to mention our excursions into Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

6. They're not carrying those guns as a fashion statement.

It's state sponsored murder.

[BoulderBean]

10. Muder fo profit

Are you saying that what we are involved with now is legit? The M I C needs to be fed, its like Big Oil, its run for profit, and for mucho nefarious reasons. So is it murder? Murder for profit.


But hey, its the Dems that are giving the middle-east over to radical islamists right now, so it must be a good thing, right?

Where are the Liberals? Where are the Moderate Democrats? Head up the ass, watching the futball games I guess.

[Marnie]

7. The only way that the military can convince people to risk their lives when their lives

are not really threatened is major league brainwashing.

It is hugely dangerous for us to not have a civilian military with the draft.
It is hugely dangerous to allow that brainwashing to begin in childhood.

I do feel that two to four years of national service should be required,(especially for Mitt Romney's kids) if for no other reason than to assure that all citizens are actually taught to read and right, and have math and some kind of training in some kind of skill to take into the work place.

[ManiacJoe]

5. I will ask the obvious question.

How does a school force students to take an optional test?

[Marnie]

8. By making it not optional?

[ManiacJoe]

11. And that this done how?

Serious question.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

9. Parents can ask that their children not participate.

IIRC the children could do it themselves or even monkey wrench it.