COUNTERING MILITARY RECRUITMENT
Articles: Counter-Recruitment: General
Anti-war veterans crash North Side recruiting office
MAUREEN O'DONNELL, Sun Times
September 18, 2007
The instructions for an unusual anti-war protest Monday contained abold-face warning for the easily persuaded: "DO NOT SIGN ANY PAPERS."
That's because demonstrators were supposed to tie up military
recruiters with calls and appointments.
"Every minute that a recruiter's spending with someone from the
movement is a minute that they're not recruiting for the war," said
Aaron Hughes of Iraq Veterans Against the War, which planned similar
actions nationwide.
At least five protesters -- two of them veterans -- entered the U.S.
Army Recruiting Station at 1239 N. Clybourn Monday morning. They said
they peppered recruiters with questions about military jobs and benefits.
One was Ken Nielsen, 37, who joined the Army during Operation Desert
Shield. He said he respects recruiters, but, "I'd rather them use
their time on my getting information, than [them] going into schools."
"They're spending all this time getting recruits for this war that is
illegal," said Hughes, 27, a member of the Illinois Army National
Guard who drove a truck in Iraq.
He said he is convinced U.S. actions have hurt Iraqis more than they
have helped. Contractors seemed to be the only ones to benefit, he
said. "I didn't have plates for my flak vest, and yet I'm hauling air
conditioners for contractors, " he said.
Monday's action caused "minor disruption," said Mike Scheck, a
spokesman for the Chicago Recruiting Battalion.
"We're not here to judge them," Scheck said. "Our job is to defend
their right to say it. . . . We are doing what we're told, and we're
not bound by politics. We're bound by the commander in chief and
[military] decisions."
This archive consists of a topically organized selection of articles culled by members of the Counter-Recruitment List Serve from printed publications and web sites. The archive is not complete. We have chosen material relevant to the work of Eugene, Oregon’s Committee for Countering Military Recruitment that we think may be of use to others individuals and groups with similar goals.
Because our web site is public, personal comments about the articles and (frequent) corrections of reporters’ errors are also not included. If an article interests you, we encourage you to return to the Counter-Recruitment List Serve and put the article’s headline into the search line, which should bring up (often wise and useful) commentary and corrections. If you do not belong to the List Serve, it can be found at counter-recruitment@yahoogroups.com
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the articles on this site are posted without profit to those who have expressed prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposed.