COUNTERING MILITARY RECRUITMENT
Articles: Counter-Recruitment: General
Resistance of One
David Swanson, American Chronicle
August 12, 2007
There is something else we can try. If you've given up on stagingmarches and rallies, or if – like me – you haven't but you want to
try something else as well, and if you've given up on lobbying
Congress as pointless, or if – like me – you haven't but you want to
try something else as well, and if educating your fellow citizens as
to exactly how completely corrupt the whole system is seems like an
incomplete answer, and if staging a general strike or taking over the
capital only seems like a good idea if you can get millions of others
to join you, there is another approach that can be taken right away
by a single person, a small group, or a crowd.
You can counter recruit, counter the corporate war profiteers, and
counter the media. Talking to high school and college students and
career counselors about the reality of the military, done at the
smallest or largest scale, helps to deny the military the troops it
needs to occupy foreign lands and kill. Of course, the military
pushes back, raising the top age for recruits (now at 42), promising
bigger bonuses (now at $50,000), and lowering various qualifications.
Ultimately, the military can push back by instituting a draft. But
that could also lead to much greater resistance. Corporations
profiting from the pretended "reconstruction" of Iraq, from the
control of Iraq's oil, and from the use of weapons and mercenaries,
can be protested and influenced. Bechtel chose to stop bidding on
contracts in Iraq rather than endure further protest. And the media
can be resisted through the creation and promotion of independent
media, through criticism and protest, and through campaigns targeting
advertisers.
A guide to engaging in these tactics and training others to do so is
found in a new book called "Army of None: Strategies to Counter
Military Recruitment, End War, and Build a Better World," by Aimee
Allison and David Solnit: http://ww.courageto resist.org/ armyofnone
They present this approach, as everyone on the left always presents
their approach, as the only one of any use. I disagree. I think the
various approaches work together. I think the marching and lobbying
help move the public to the point where more people will resist
recruitment. I think countering recruitment helps recruit peace
activists of all sorts. And I think that we have to model democratic
behavior as part of defining a vision for the future, if nothing
else. We have to publicly demand the behavior we want from our
elected officials if only to deny them the argument that we never
asked. And we have to envision a world in which one day citizens are
able to influence politicians directly.
Most of "Army of None" is devoted to counter recruitment, and the
book makes an ideal guide for anyone interested in that project.
Among other things, it provides the basic facts about the usual lies
recruiters tell. For one thing, most recruits won't actually get
$50,000 or anything close to it. In fact, nothing a recruiter
promises a recruit means anything at all, because every military
contract includes these lines:
"Laws and regulations that govern military personnel may change
without notice to me. Such changes may affect my status, pay
allowances, benefits, and responsibilities as a member of the Armed
Forces REGARDLESS of the provisions of this enlistment /
re-enlistment document."
In other words, the rest of the contract means nothing, and only
those two sentences and a signature actually matter. The rest, like
much of what comes out of recruiters' mouths, is lies. The New York
Times reported that one in five U.S. Army recruiters was under
investigation in 2004 for offenses ranging from "threats and coercion
to false promises that applicants would not be sent to Iraq."
In addition to educating potential recruits and assisting them in
finding more positive career options, citizens can actively counter
recruitment by protesting or impeding recruiting operations. One of
the more creative ways to do this is for that dwindling portion of
the population that is not qualified for recruitment to attempt to
enlist. Raging Grannies and other groups of women have tied up
recruiting stations and attracted attention by attempting to sign up,
refusing to leave, and risking arrest. What are the raging
grandfathers waiting for?
Although "Army of None" does not suggest it, I would recommend
another tactic as well. Get to know the recruiters and offer to help
them with their job. Take a stack of brochures and blank contracts
from them. And whenever you encounter a pro-war demonstrator, offer
to help them sign up. "Hey Hey What about you? You look under 42!" is
a chant that has been known to silence the most obnoxious voices. The
point is not, of course, to actually recruit anyone, but to expose
the hypocrisy of war proponents and call attention to the question of
exactly who is being recruited.
If you want to get involved in countering recruitment and in
supporting members of the military who refuse to serve in illegal
wars of aggression, go to http://www.couraget oresist.org
To get involved in this movement face-to-face, check out the
following upcoming events:
Veterans for Peace Convention
August 15-19 in St. Louis
http://www.veterans forpeace. org
Book Release and Project Kick-Off for "Army of None"
August 30 in Oakland, Calif., 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Club Oasis, 135 12th Street
Week of action in Washington, D.C.
September 15: March and massive die-in
September 16: truth in recruiting training and congressional lobbying training
September 17 National Truth in Recruiting Day
September 18 Congressional Challenge Day
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