Military Recruiters Face Youth and Student Resistance

by Ian Thompson

We'll give you up to $70,000 for college.” “You won't have to go to Iraq.” “Your service will only last four years.” Much of what recruiters promise is based on exaggeration, half-truths and outright lies. Recruiters have to fill quotas and will do almost anything to meet them, especially during wartime. The U.S. military -- the most powerful and destructive in the world -- is growing increasingly desperate to fill its ranks. In 2005 alone, the Army seeks to recruit 101,200 new active-duty regular Army and Reserve soldiers. But recruitment in nearly all branches of the military is down. The National Guard missed its recruitment quota by 13 percent last year. The Army fell short of its goal by more than 27 percent in February 2005 and is more than six percent behind its year-to-date recruiting target. The Reserve is 10 percent behind its target and the Guard is 26 percent short. January through March 2005 was the first time in a decade that the Marines missed their monthly goals. What is causing this sudden decline?

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/May05/Thompson0512.htm