Letter From an Army Ranger: Here's Why You Should Think Twice About Joining the Military

[bigtree]

Last edited Thu Jan 15, 2015, 01:30 PM - Edit history (1)

from Rory Fanning at MoJones:


...Once you get to a certain age, you can't help thinking about the decisions you made (or that, in a sense, were made for you) when you were younger. I do that and someday you will, too. Reflecting on my own years in the 75th Ranger regiment, at a moment when the war you'll find yourself immersed in was just beginning, I've tried to jot down a few of the things they don't tell you at the recruiting office or in the pro-military Hollywood movies that may have influenced your decision to join. Maybe my experience will give you a perspective you haven't considered.

I imagine you're entering the military for the same reason just about everyone volunteers: it felt like your only option. Maybe it was money, or a judge, or a need for a rite of passage, or the end of athletic stardom. Maybe you still believe that the US is fighting for freedom and democracy around the world and in existential danger from "the terrorists." Maybe it seems like the only reasonable thing to do: defend our country against terrorism...

Make no mistake: whatever the news may say about the changing cast of characters the US is fighting and the changing motivations behind the changing names of our military "operations" around the world, you and I will have fought in the same war. It's hard to believe that you will be taking us into the 14th year of the Global War on Terror (whatever they may be calling it now). I wonder which one of the 668 US military bases worldwide you'll be sent to.

In its basics, our global war is less complicated to understand than you might think, despite the difficult-to-keep-track-of enemies you will be sent after—whether al-Qaeda ("central," al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, in the Magreb, etc.), or the Taliban, or al-Shabab in Somalia, or ISIS (aka ISIL, or the Islamic State), or Iran, or the al-Nusra Front, or Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria. Admittedly, it's a little hard to keep a reasonable scorecard. Are the Shia or the Sunnis our allies? Is it Islam we're at war with? Are we against ISIS or the Assad regime or both of them?

Just who these groups are matters, but there's an underlying point that it's been too easy to overlook in recent years: ever since this country's first Afghan War in the 1980s (that spurred the formation of the original al-Qaeda), our foreign and military policies have played a crucial role in creating those you will be sent to fight...

In such circumstances, it's difficult—I know that well—but not impossible to keep in mind that your actions in the military involve far more than whatever's in front of you or in your gun sights at any given moment. Our military operations around the world—and soon that will mean you—have produced all kinds of blowback. Thought about a certain way, I was being sent out in 2002 to respond to the blowback created by the first Afghan War and you're about to be sent out to deal with the blowback created by my version of the second one...


read more: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/01/military-counterrecruitment-global-war-on-terror

[MohRokTah]

1. K&R

This should be required reading for every High School Junior.

[JHB]

2. The more things change, the more they stay the...

?

[KansDem]

11. The first three episodes of the TV show, "City of Angels,"...

...titled, "The November Plan," is based on a plot to overthrow the US government. Actor Lloyd Nolan played Gen. Smedley Butler.

It aired in 1976. "City of Angels" lasted only one season. Why only one season? I mean, Wayne Rogers had just come off a successful run with the TV show, "M*A*S*H". I would think he was popular with the TV-watching public.

I sometimes wonder if "The November Plan" got a little too close for comfort for the "clandestine group of very prominent and powerful men" and was subsequently canceled.

(I believe "City of Angels" was based on the movie "Chinatown" (1974) with Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway).

[demigoddess]

3. amen, brother

and I have been seeing the soldiers come back from wars since the 50s. Most of them will never be the same. Then after each war we have a recession. Damage to the economy. But it puts money into the pockets of rich men. And gives the politicians something to crow about.

[whatchamacallit]

4. The war on terra is a business plan

Part of the plan is to keep us distracted and arguing over bullshit while the reaper reaps the profits of perpetual war. USA USA...

[dreamnightwind]

5. Loved this article

and the idea of counter-recruiters:

I'm writing to you especially because I just want you to know that it's not too late to change your mind. I did. I became a war resister after my second deployment in Afghanistan for all the reasons I mention above. I finally unpacked, so to speak. Leaving the military was one of the most difficult but rewarding experiences of my life. My own goal is to take what I learned in the military and bring it to high school and college students as a kind of counter-recruiter. There's so much work to be done, given the 10,000 military recruiters in the US working with an almost $700 million advertising budget. After all, kids do need to hear both sides.

[JimDandy]

6. His list of reasons why you should think twice about joining the military:

1. you will be subjected to radical psychological manipulation and racist group-blaming to get you to view others as an enemy to kill;
2. your "enemy's" culture is invariably poverty-stricken. As you walk around among them with obscenely expensive high tech weapons, they are digging for crumbs to eat;
3. you will end up killing more civilians than gun-toting "militants", and
4. instead of making an area a better place for freedom and democracy, you will be making the world more dangerous.

He views himself as a counter-recruiter to the US military's 10,000 recruiters who are targeting our kids lives with a $700 million advertising budget.

[FairWinds]

7. Excellent Analysis by Mr. Fanning . .

Veterans For Peace does some counter recruiting - but much more is needed.
In Ohio, some school districts have ruled that if recruiters are allowed into the schools,
then counter recruiters should also get access.
Fact is that recruiters tell outrageous lies to impressionable youth. Don't know
how the former sleep at night.
I'm a Vietnam vet and a Vets for Peace member.

[pinboy3niner]

8. I can see why you're an activist

What are they gonna do, send you back to Vietnam?

Welcome home, brother!

[bigtree]

10. I had a great resource a decade or so back for counter recruitment

...most of the links dried up - some are still active with good advice and guidance for youth and others.

Some active links from the American Friends Service Committee:

Ways to counter military recruitment in your school district

Campaign for an ordinance for equal access in your school district.

Equal access mandates that for each military recruitment session done in the district’s schools, peace groups are allowed equal time and access to the students to offer alternatives to enlistment. See examples of other successful campaigns and how-to organizing guides.


Frequently Used Counter-Recruitment Resources:

Ten Points to Consider Before You Sign a Military Enlistment Agreement (pdf)

Opt Out Form

Flyer - Alternatives to the Military (English) /

Distribute opt-out forms at local high schools.

At the beginning of the school year, parents have the option to opt-out of allowing their children to be contacted by military recruiters. You can download opt-out forms to distribute.

Join the NNOMY Network.

The National Network of Opposing the Militarization of Youth (NNOMY) is a project cofounded by AFSC that links together hundreds of activist groups and congregations and gives you access to lots of great resources.

more: http://afsc.org/story/five-ways-counter-military-recruitment-your-school-district\


I need to get back to this....

[JimDandy]

12. Nice resources! n/t

[Man from Pickens]

9. Superb!

Article is a masterpiece - really worth reading all the way through.

[bigtree]

13. »

[Scuba]

14. Kick from this old vet.

[raouldukelives]

15. K&R When one shares in the proceeds, one shares in the responsibility.

Every part is integral to the whole. From a General to a Pvt. From a cook to a fighter pilot. One doesn't accomplish the objective w/o the assistance of the other.
It is a good idea to have ones eyes wide open when entering into an agreement with those with blinders on.