ROTC at New Mexico State University Targets Latino Students, Giving Confidential Data to Recruiters
David M. Boje, Ph.d. September 21 2003; Updated Sept 24 2003
Co-Organizer, PeaceAware.com
The peace movement must build solidarity between New Mexico State University Latino students and rank-and-file soldiers used as cannon fodder in U.S. wars, such as, Vietnam, Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq. As a Vietnam veteran, I can testify that during and after the Vietnam war, the ranks of the peace movement swelled with veterans who saw first hand the racism and absurdity of U.S. foreign policy. The Pentagon has targeted low income Latino Americans and non-U.S.-citizen Mexicans as the most promising ethic groups to recruit. in the U.S. military. This is widely known as the "poverty draft."
The poverty draft takes its biggest toll on Latinos. While some join for patriotism and medals, most join to escape joblessness in the biggest recuiting areas, Texas and New Mexico. As one PeaceAware member put it, "In reality this war is about a minority group (Hispanics) fighting another minority group (Iraqis) for the benefit of a another minority group, George Bush & Henchmen, corporate America & company, to say the least" (Source PeaceAware list, Sept 23 2003).
"One of the first U.S. soldiers to die in Iraq, Jose Gutierrez, was an orphaned Guatemalan who at the time of his death was not even an American citizen... As of Aug. 28, Department of Defense (DOD) statistics show a casualty rate of more than 13 percent for people of Hispanic background serving in Iraq" (Source Kagan, Sept 19 2003). These are young men and women who cannot find jobs in New Mexico or Texas, and sign up to the military in hopes of getting a better education and a better future. Here is the bottom line, military recruiters want to boost their numbers in combat jobs from 17.7% .to 22% of the military. That means Latinos are targeted to pay the big price in death toll for the Iraq war.
Latinos also are a patriotic culture, with a long tradition of military service/. From 1776 to the Iraq war, Latino Americans have joined the military in record numbers to defend the U.S. and die for their country. Military jobs are popular in the Latino community. "85,000 Hispanic Americans on active duty" representing approximately 17.4 percent of combat personnel and "Latinos represent over 6.2 percent of the Army, 8.1 percent of the Navy, 11 percent of the Marine Corps, and 4.4 percent of the Air Force" (Source, Cueto). As of April, 2003, "Of the 52 U.S. troops who have died since the war began, eight have been Latino, three of whom were not American citizens" (Source Edward Seufentes April 2003; See Expedited Naturalization Order). The high death rate is because, Latinos make up 18 percent of the troops categorized as "infantry, gun crews and (sailors)."
Latino students may be exploited at New Mexico State University with deadly results. Latino students are targeted in New Mexico High Schools and Colleges to die on battlefields at higher rates than other racial groups (March 27 2003 Pew Hispanic Center study). Latinos, for example, are over represented in U.S. military combat units, "composing only 9.49 percent of the enlisted personnel but 17.74 percent of those directly handling guns" (Source Sept 19 2003, Rodolfo F. Acuña in Common Dreams). "Hispanics (mostly Mexican) are attracted by video war games, and they sign up mostly in the Marines, a service which appeals to their macho tradition" (Source Stanford). They are attracted to New Mexico State University ROTC by promises of access to higher education. Guatemala, José Gutiérrez, joined the Marines to get an education and twenty-one year old Francisco Martinez Flores, killed when his tank fell into the Euphrates, enlisted so that he could go to college. Jose Angel Garibay, the 21-year-old joined the Marines in 1999 so he could attend college.
Latinos currently are the fastest growing sector in the U.S., and as a people, have been living in the reality of policies like the U.S. Homeland Security for over 20+ years under repressive immigration policies. Our people are over represented in the military as well as in the prison system. Our young people are duped into the military service with promises of money for education, and because of this intentional targeting of our youth; we have become a principal supply of cannon fodder (Source, Environmental Health Coalition March 2003).
It is time to oust the Army ROTC and military recruiters at New Mexico State University because they target Hispanic students and has no place on a college campus. There is a disproportionately higher Latino death rate on the Iraq battlefield (Hispanic/Latinos in the Afghanistan and Iraq War 2002-03).
Latinos are also recruited into the military (mostly from Mexico) with promises of fast track citizenship. "Seven non-citizen soldiers have died in Iraq, and at least three have been granted citizenship posthumously" (Source, April 11 2003 PNS Pilar Marrero). It is time to stop asking non-U.S. citizens to die for endless war policy of the U.S.
According to the most recent estimates by the Department of Defense, about 38,000 troops, some 3 percent of the U.S. armed forces, are not citizens. One of the first casualties of the war was Jose Gutierrez, a Guatemalan immigrant from California who was orphaned in Guatemala, lived on the streets and traveled by cargo trains for thousands of miles to cross the border illegally into the United States (Source, April 11 2003 PNS Pilar Marrero).
More than 200 U.S. Navy sailors, including many who served in the Iraq war, were sworn in Friday as citizens of the country they defend.The sailors had applied for U.S. citizenship under an executive order issued by President Bush last year, which made immigrants serving in the military since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks immediately eligible for naturalization (Source Pern Aug 8 2003).
It is time for our universities to stop giving confidential student record information to military recruiters. New Mexico State University ROTC has a contract with the military's"Hispanic Access Initiative" (HAI) to target Latino students. What is deplorable is the HAI contract gives military recruiters unlimited access to otherwise private and confidential personal information from NMSU student records, such as unlisted phone numbers and addresses, that is used to solicit students for ROTC enrollment and military service. ROTC activities militarize the NMSU campus.
They Died Trying to Become Students "With the U.S. assault on Iraq moving from the invasion to the occupation phase and the saber rattling continuing to echo out of Pentagon, it is time to reflect on where the Latino community in the United States finds itself within the larger context of the New World Order. Like many working class youth, Latinos and Latinos who buy into the vision of military service as a short cut to college or job training are simply looking for a way to grab a piece of the American Dream.. The Bush administration had established a fast track naturalization process for foreign recruits in July 2002 as part of the "war on terror.. The number of permanent resident enlistees jumped from 300 a month before the fast track reform to 1,300 a month. " (Source Jorge Mariscal, C ounterpunch Apr 18 2003).
Military officials say the HAI is merely an effort to right past wrongs. "The under-representation of Hispanics serving as Army officers was the catalyst that made the military want to provide additional access to Hispanics," said Maj. Michael Berry, vice chairman for Department of Military Science at UCLA (Source). However, despite the Latino recruiting into ROTC, the fact is, "according to Department of Defense figures, in 2001, Latinos were heavily concentrated in low level, less skilled supply details in the army and Marines" (Source Earl Ofari Hutchinson, AlterNet April 7, 2003). As one PeaceAware person reported (Sept 21 2003), " My father had to go on the draft board [in Las Cruces] to insist that anglos as well as hispanics be drafted. This must be stopped but I don't know how."
President Bush is pushing Latino recruiting, while avoiding war combat during his own military service - "Hispanic Americans bring many gifts to this nation -- hard work and strong cultural traditions and patriotism," President George Bush said. He added, "Your good works and reverence bring compassion for our country and honor to almighty God." Bush, who used his dad's influence to sit out the Vietnam war in the reserves (where our troops died at a rate of 350 per week), singled out for special praise a "son of Mexico" who served in the Marines for 25 years and was wounded in Iraq. Bush also visited Master Gunnery Sgt. Guadalupe Denogean at a hospital ... as he received a Purple Heart and took his oath of citizenship" (Source, 5/16/03). George W. Bush never showed up for National Guard duty for a period of approximately one year, in 1972-1973. Despite all the talk about "honor and dignity," Bush seems to have a problem meeting his commitments (Click here to read Bush's signed contract). Rich White kids do not go to war in the same numbers as blue collar Latinos and Blacks (See Poster).
How did HAI begin? A plan was developed by the Secretary of the Army (Louis Caldera) and approved in 1999 to expand Army ROTC presence to additional campuses with high Hispanic enrollment. NMSU has been part of this initiative since its inception. The "Hispanic Access Initiative" pays instructor salaries, scholarships, marketing dollars and operating expenses at each of these schools where traditionally "underserved" populations enroll in college.
The strategy is to recruit poor and working class youth, especially Latinos
and African Americans, in States where there are few job options, to serve in
the military. "Historically Latinos have died serving this nation in percentages
disproportionate to Latino
representation in the total population. Twenty eight percent of the names on
the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC are Latino (Joint Center for Political
and Economic Studies Report). Over 50% of front-line troops for Operation Desert
Storm were people of color with a large percentage of these Latinos" (Source
March 10, 2003
CSU Northridge). "During the Vietnam War, 80,000 Latinos served, incurring
about 19 percent of all casualties. At the time, however, Latinos made up only
4.5 percent of the total population.. The U.S. military spends between $8,000
and $11,000 to recruit a single soldier. " (Source Sept
19 2003, Rodolfo F. Acuña in Common Dreams).
"The Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) tends to be located in communities of color with high levels of poverty, unemployment, dropout rates, and poor quality education. It is not surprising that Latino and African American youth are especially vulnerable to military recruiters' promises of job training and education. Unfortunately, many recruits find that military training does not translate into civilian jobs" (Source Jan 21 2003 CSUN).
NMSU ROTC promises Latinos jobs after their military service. However, research suggests that said jobs are not forthcomingg. Toni Joseph writing in the Wall Street Journal (1985) described the rude awakening for many veterans. "Unemployment among post-Vietnam veterans was 9.7% in the third quarter, compared with an overall rate of 7.2%. For Black male veterans, the rate was 16.5% compared with 14.8% for Black males overall."
How many millions in federal funds does NMSU receive for maintaining ROTC on campus? The peace movement of New Mexico welcomes veterans and active military personnel into its ranks. The peace movement has always been made up of veterans. To get involved in the peace mvment, contact Veterans Against War chapter of PeaceAware.com
Students not Soldiers - "In the poorer parts of the country,
army recruiters talk to children as early as primary school. At a predominantly
Latino high school in east Los Angeles, students became so exasperated by the
presence of army recruiters at careers fairs that they began a campaign to get
rid of them with the slogan "students not soldiers" (Source By Andrew
Gumbel 10 September 2003).
Racism in employment - "African Americans with a college diploma find themselves unemployed almost twice as often as whites with the same education. Hispanics must get by on only about half of the individual income that Asian Americans and whites divvy up among the bills" (Source, Lehrman, AlterNet, September 18, 2003). So the bottom line appears to be, that while Latinos (and other minority groups) are recruited to the military to find equal education and employment opportunities, the U.S. is not delivering.
Why is this an issue? I think recruiting Latinos in higher numbers to die on the battlefields of perpetual war is a major issue because not only is it racist, but it shortchanges the educational benefits due to veterans.
First, we in the peace movement need to do more than wave signs that say "Protect Our Troops." We have to deal with the reality that in a predominantly Latino community, it is considered macho and patriotic to go to war. Recruiters systematically target the Latino desire to become Americano by promising access to NMSU education and job prospects after military service. However, the result is that Latinos get less income relative to Whites and die in higher percentages on the battlefield, since more are sent there.
Second, during the Vietnam war, as you know, returning veterans joined the peace movement in record numbers. If we want to defeat Bush, Steve Pearce, or the Mayor in upcoming elections, we will need to get Latinos to join the peace movement instead of putting "I Support President Bush and the Troops" on their lawns.
Third, Latino recruiting can be an issue at New Mexico State University, if it can be shown to the student body, faculty, and administration that military recruiters are getting privileged access to confidential student records.
Fourth, my Vietnam service paid for my education from bachelors through my Ph.D. I was one of the poor city youths drafted in New York. I am certain that poor and blue collar children returning from Kosovo, Iraq or Afghanistan combat theatre are not getting the same level of educational benefits. I think they get about half their bachelors and that's it. I believe that sending veterans to college, including graduate school is the best investment this country ever did with their education dollars. I received free tuition and $400 a month in family allowance from bachelors through Ph.D. The way the game is rigged now, thousands of Latinos, Blacks and other minority groups join ROTC in high school and college, thinking they will get education benefits. But, just what kind of benefits are they receiving? To die in higher numbers on U.S. perpetual war battlefields, while Whites opt out is no benefit.
If predominantly old white males (in Washington D.C.) are pushing military combat, while rigging the game so that Latinos pay the price on the battlefield, then we must demand that the "Hispanic Access Initiative" (HAI) be repealed and that universities such as New Mexico State University, stop granting military recruiters access to confidential minority records.
