Militarism and Public Schools David M

Militarism in Las Cruces Middle Schools
David M. Boje, Ph.D.
January 26, 2003 (updated Mar 6)

Figure 1: The Military Budget FY 2003 is $396.1 Billion plus 'X' (most likely the CIA's covert budget). The Militarism budget is six times any other country, and is more than what the next 27 nations spend on their military budgets. About $2 billion of this budget goes to recruit our children to join the war machine (Figure above is from TrueMajority.com)

"That big "X" represents the money we could reallocate by trimming the Pentagon budget just 15%. The retired admirals and generals who advise us agree we could do this just by canceling Cold War weapons systems like nuclear weapons and StarWars which do nothing to keep us safe" (TrueMajority).

Table 1: 15% or 85% reduction: Which would make USA a PEACE nation instead of a WAR nation?

Former admirals, generals and military officials agree that the U.S. can safely reduce the Pentagon budget of $396.1 Billion by 15% (TrueMajority.com). At www.PeaceAware.com we did some additional calculations, and if we have a PEACE budget of $63.376 billion for military, then we still outspending our nearest competitor (Russia) by $3.376 billion. We stop toppling regimes; we stop installing and arming the world's despot leaders; and PEACE reigns. That's enough to do ALL of the following: What do you think? 15% chump change for social programs, or get the nation on track and make our PEACE programs the best in the world?

FY $396 Military Budget	15% reduction suggested by TrueMajority	84% reduction suggested by PeaceAware
Provide basic health and food to the world's poor:	$12 billion	$84 billion
Rebuild America's public schools over 10 years:	$12 billion	$84 billion
Reduce class size for grades 1-3 to 15 students per class:	$11 billion	$77 billion
Reduce debts of impoverished nations:	$10 billion	$70 billion
Provide health insurance to all uninsured American kids:	$6 billion	$42 billion
Increase federal funding for clean energy and energy efficiency:	$6 billion	$42 billion
Public financing of all federal elections:	$1 billion	$7 billion
Fully fund Head Start:	$2 billion	$14 billion
SUBTOTAL	$48 billion	$420.86 billion
LEFT FOR MILITARY FUNDING	$336.67 billion	$63.38 billion

Figure 2 - What the Relative spending of even an 84% of Military Budget from $396.1 billion to $63.28 billion likes like (Figure above is from www.PeaceAware.com)

It is time to stop recruiting our children to be fodder for the war machine and international arms industry. See special article,

Our crop of 10-year-olds is in danger, the future of the U.S. military. Given the apparent plan for permanent policing, they are fodder for the war machine.

"Taxpayers in New Mexico will pay $314.7 million for the estimated cost ($100 b) of war in Iraq. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided" (NationalPriorities):

"Taxpayers in New Mexico will pay $236.0 million for funding request ($75 b) for war in Iraq. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided" (NationalPriorities):

War is not about keeping the peace; War is a business, a $1 trillion dollar business and our war budget let's the USA have the lion's share of the weapons of mass destruction market. The War industry pays for this van and glitzy ads to promote militarism in New Mexico schools.

Figure 4 - War Resistors - FEDERAL PIE CHART - What you pay (or don’t pay) April 15, 2003, goes only to the federal funds portion of the budget See Source and El piechart en el español

What we are doing at PeaceAware.com? At the Sunday Jan 26 03 Voices for Peace meeting in Las Cruces, we discussed the growing military presence in Las Cruces' middle and high schools. We will be speaking out at the Feb 15 Peace in the Park event in Las Cruces (see www.PeaceAware.com for details). Uncle Sam wants our children. The military are recruiting our kids when they are quite young and impressionable, when military combat sounds so wonderful, when it matches their images of heroism in war movies, and the action of their shot em up video games. I decided to get some facts about this trend and write a brief history. Our intent is to begin to produce a fact sheet for parents on how to resist militarism in Las Cruces schools.

Militarism in Middle Schools - Several people shared how here in Las Cruces, in Sierra Middle School, military recruiters give kids k-rations and rides in military vehicles. "There is always someone in a military uniform at the school." At Camino Royal Middle School, a sign to teachers, requested 'invite the military to speak to your classes.' Recruiting 400,000 soldiers a year is a tough business. Recruiting our middle schools kids is over the top. They are being recruited for Junior ROTC (JROTC) high school programs as the first step, and they are being sold on militarism.

Fear of Loss of Funding to High Schools keeps Principal from informing Parents about Opt-Out.

Ms. Foltz told a member of www.PeaceAware.com on January 30th, that she would be writing up descriptions of the recruitment policy and the "opt out" procedure, and distributing them to the principals of the high schools in Las Cruces, and "we'll go from there." She did not clarify whether the principals will use their own discretion as to how to inform parents and students, or if there would be a district wide policy.

We looked into this issue in greater depth over the last week. The following is section 9528 of the Not Child Left Behind Act, Public Law 107-110.

JROTC targeted New Mexico for new JROTC programs that began in 2001-2002 (Dickey, 2002: 1):

“They swoop in on a school district, snow the school board with rhetoric about helping today's ‘at-risk youth,’ flash some cash, and try to win a vote before anyone can think about organizing” (Rohrer, 1994). The Pentagon spends $1.9 billion a year on AN advertising campaign about learning high tech skills, going to college, and seeing the world, but never mentions actual reason for maintaining a military force, to fight wars. The ads to not mention that an estimated one-third of homeless population are veterans (Mosely, 1997)..

The JROTC programs are successful. 45% of JROTC students join the military (Lutz & Bartlett, 1995). “JROTC is about militarizing young people and our culture” (Rohrer, 1994). In a new federal education law, under a sleeper provision to the 2001 ‘No Child Left Behind Act,’ high schools across the nation are required to provide a directory of names, addresses, and phone numbers of junior and senior students to military recruiters.[i] Few parents know that they can request that their child’s name not be given to military recruiters; parents must sign and return an opt-out form.

The law also says that schools must give the military the same access to their campuses that businesses and college recruiters enjoy. School systems that fail to comply could lose federal money… In a letter last month, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Education Secretary Rod Paige reminded high school administrators of their duty, and cited "the excellent educational opportunities the military affords, as well as an environment that encourages the development of strong character and leadership skills.[ii]

The Weapons Industry wants our Children. they want our children to be available for the draft.

Some History on Militarism Recruitment - After the Vietnam War, the draft was abolished, and the all volunteer-Army took its place. The Reagan administration increased recruitment budgets. In FY 1986 four branches of the military spent over $1.8 billion on recruitment, an average of $5,400 per recruit (Hellinger & Judd, 1991: 215). Over the last decade the cost of recruiting has risen from to $11,600 per recruit. The advertising budget alone was $216 million in 1986 and increase to $265 million annually by 2000 (Jaffe, 2000). In 1995, the Army’s ad budget of $71 million included a plan to “renew young Americans' focus on patriotism and service” (PBS, 1995). In 2000, the ad dollars for Air Force recruiting included $55 million for television over two years, $5 million for sales and promotional items, $3.6 million toward newspapers and magazines, $2.4 million between banner ads and website recruiting and $1.8 million in direct mail pieces.[iii] The Army increased its advertising budget from $32.8 million in fiscal year 1993 to $97.2 million in fiscal year 1998 (GAO Report, 2000). The Navy, between fiscal year 1997 and 1999, increased its funding advertising--from $41.1 million to $73.2 million (GAO Report, 2000). The Marine Corps is trying to recruit new teenagers with its 50-foot tall inflatable drill instructor paid for by the Marine Corp’s $42 million annual advertising budget (Mother Jones Jan/Feb 01). Ads also feature break-dancers and promise impressionable youths high skills that the military does not deliver; only 17% of Army jobs require such skills (Hellinger & Judd: 1991: 215). There were 15,000 military recruiters dispatched to high schools. By 1986, 227,448 high schools students were recruited into JROTC, compared to 287, 20 years earlier (Hellinger & Judd, 1991: 215).

The Defense Department plans are to spend $234 million on JROTC programs, a four-fold increase (Goodman, 2002: 58). The National Defense Act of 1916 established the JROTC, with costs for JROTC shared by the U. S. Government and the schools involved (Dickey, 1999). Army JROTC already involves 230,000 high school students each year and is offered at 1,420 high schools. Half of the JROTC units take optional course in weapons training. The pitch is JROTC will provide leadership training, but few of the students go on to become officers; most end up with low rank. The pitch is that JROTC will lead to college education, but mostly receive dead-end jobs. The Albany Friends Meeting of Quakers declared that, “They foster a culture of war and violence rather than peace. We prefer that young people get credits in serious academic subjects” (Goodman, 2002: 80).

The military provides JROCT with $52.1 million in textbooks, and more is spent on uniforms and instructors (Hellinger & Judd, 1991: 215). In an Army JROTC textbook, in a section called “brain power, the wisdom is white are “left-grain individuals” who prefer “being on time,” while African Americans are “right [brain] dominant” and prefer “a good time” (Goodman, 2002: 80). JROTC textbooks also disproportionately tout military careers as opposed to civilian ones; History is a linear series of accomplishments by soldiers (Lutz & Bartlett, 1995).

JROTC targets school systems that are strapped-for-cash, a way to recruit poor kids into the military. The Chicago school system spends $2.8 million on JROTC. Senior cadets in El Paso’s JROTC, earned lower grades had had worse attendance than non-JROTC students (Goodman, 2002: 60). While JROTC funding has grown, funding for public school counselors, for sports, music, drama, conflict resolution and other activities has been cut.

A growing number of communities from California and Washington to Minnesota and Connecticut are holding vigils outside school offices to stop JROTC. They are deeply suspicious of the deeds associated with U.S. militarism around the world. One 16 year-old student Zach London did a petition drive and a rally against JROTC, collecting 600 signatures of students opposed to JROTC (p. 80). Despite the activism, there are 600 schools in the USA on waiting list to enlist in JROTC.

In college, students must prove they have registered for Selective Service to get financial aid. In 1986 where were 530 ROTC detachments with 110,872 students, up 50% from 1975; 4,000 graduate students were funded by the Pentagon (Hellinger & Judd, 1991: 216).

There is a move in congress to bring back the draft. If you are 18 to 22, you can earn $340 per month: Males would be drafted, but women could volunteer; No deferment or postponement of induction for basic military training to complete your college education under this Act –see HR 3598

Children of the elite steer clear of military service. No one in the Bush administration has military age children.

Only one person in the House, and none in the Senate have military age children. Yet the administration votes funds to indoctrinate our youth in militarism. Militarism is part of US culture, part of its movies, video games, and toy industry. Militarism is global business, spending $135 million dollars every minute of every day. US military budget for FY 2003 is $396.1 billion, a $45.3 billion increase from FY 2002 (Military Budget, 2003). It is 15% above the cold war average. US military budget exceeds that of any nation on Earth; Six times Russia, which is second, spending $60 billion. The Bush administration plans to spend $2.1 Trillion on the military over the next five years [see iii].

References

GAO Report (2000). Military Personnel: First-Term Recruiting and Attrition Continue to Require Focused Attention (Statement/Record, 02/24/2000, GAO/T-NSIAD-00-102). http://www.fas.org/man/gao/nsiad-00-102.htm

Hellinger, Daniel & Dennis R. Judd (1991). The Democratic Façade. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks-Cole Publishing Company.

Lutz, Catherine & Lesley Bartlett (1995). Making Soldiers in the public schools: An analysis of the Army JROTC curriculum. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. http://www.afsc.org/youthmil/jrotc/execfin.htm