Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft (COMD)

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From Draft NOtices, July-September 2013

— Paula Hoffman-Villanueva
 
    

We hear a great deal about the over-use of tests in schools, but one test that we all need to pay more attention to is the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery). The ASVAB is purported to be a series of vocational interest and academic skills tests, and the emblem of the sponsoring Department of Defense is intentionally downplayed on the testing materials. Since 1968, millions of high school students have taken the ASVAB and, as a result, have unwittingly given the military access to their personal information. This information is then turned over to recruiters, raising serious legal concerns regarding privacy rights and protections.

Recently the Army Command and General Staff College published and approved for distribution a 2012 graduate thesis by Major Gregory V. Humble, who examines the question: "Why do schools choose to not release ASVAB scores to military recruiters?" Such studies are sometimes circulated to inform military policy and practices, and this one contains some valuable information, including statistics, that the public does not usually have easy access to.

In Humble’s thesis, we find some revealing observations. Although the military clearly tries to downplay the extensive use of the ASVAB as a recruiting tool, Major Humble writes, "The military benefits, especially when scores are released to recruiters because the scores help determine who is eligible for military service." Also: "The ASVAB is marketed as a career exploration program."

We are encouraged to find that Project YANO, along with other like-minded organizations that are mentioned in the thesis, have clearly made important progress in the struggle to keep recruiters away from our nation's youth. The numbers reported in Major Humble's thesis indicate that actions taken by peace activists, conscientious school districts and a few state governments are having an effect. In 1990, 1,006,957 students took the test, while in 2011 the number was 670,561. Although the total number of high school students has increased, the percentage of high school students participating in the ASVAB declined from 10.8 percent in 1990 to 5.7 percent in 2011.

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From Draft NOtices, April-June 2013

– Sasha Wright
    

In his January inauguration speech President Obama declared that “a decade of war is now ending,” and “enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war.” But the only wars Obama is ending (and even those not 100%) are the big ones, involving large-scale deployment of ground troops, substantial U.S. casualties and direct naked occupations.

As important as it is that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are winding down – to the fury of the Neocons – U.S. militarism continues to spread in new forms. Out of the public eye this administration has killed thousands of civilians in CIA and covert operations drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia; has expanded the U.S. network of small bases around the world; and has provided training and military aid to support proxy wars. These new perpetual wars are the elite's "Plan B" for securing oil and maintaining U.S. economic and military hegemony in a climate of increased global inequality and the instability created by climate change.

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From Draft NOtices, April-June 2013

– Seth Kershner
    

[Originally published by Bitch Magazine, December 2012, http://bitchmagazine.org/article/navy-steals. Reprinted with permission.]

Although women make up about half of the United States workforce, they represent just 24 percent of careers in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). In order to correct this, major nonprofit groups have been organizing STEM enrichment camps for middle- and high-school girls, driven by the philosophy that more women will pursue STEM careers if their interest is piqued at an early age.

But recently, some girls-only STEM programs have gone beyond fostering interest in science and math among the next generation of women. Branches of the U.S. military – in particular, the Navy – have increasingly been using these programs to market the military to girls as young as 11 and 12.

Founded in 1974, Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) organizes dozens of STEM conferences for middle- and high-school girls each year. According to its website (http://www.expandingyourhorizons.org/), the EYH “recently had the opportunity to partner with the Navy and learn about careers where young women are underrepresented.” They give girls the following pitch: “You probably never gave much thought to having a career with the United States Navy. Many girls don’t. . . . We want to introduce you to several inspiring professional women who are currently active in the Navy and serve on aircraft carriers, who serve as Navy divers, or who serve in other interesting Navy careers.” Accompanying the text is a handy-dandy link to the Navy’s recruiting website.

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Ninth CIRCUIT COURT RULING: CONFRONTING MILITARISM BY USING EQUAL ACCESS TO HIGH SCHOOLS

When the military comes to your local high school, you have a legal right to give students an opposing view. This has been the position taken by federal district courts in Florida, Pennsylvania and Illinois and two federal appellate courts. The most broadly-worded decision came from a case that COMD took to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the 1980s. Here is the background:

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