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Go to Iraq or Go to Jail
Take your pick: prison or war.
That's what some army recruiters are telling high school students in Houston, Texas to scare teenagers into joining the army.
On July 29th, 2008, a local CBS affiliate in Houston broke this story about illegal army recruitment tactics and a shady new strategy called the "Delayed Entry Program." As part of a $5 billion recruitment budget for 2008--that's right, $5 billion—Army recruiters ask high school students to sign a non-binding contract that says they intend to enlist in the army upon graduation.
According to the Army's own policies for the new program, "under no circumstances will any [recruiter] threaten, coerce, manipulate, or intimidate future soldiers, nor may they obstruct separation requests... At no time will any [recruiter] tell a Delayed Entry Program member he or she must go in the Army or he or she will go to jail."
So when Eric Gonzalez and Eric Martinez, two high school friends in Texas who signed a Delayed Entry contract, were told they'd go to jail if they didn't join the Army, they realized something wasn't right. They came up with a plan to tape record the recruiter's illegal and dishonest claims, then leak it to the press.
Here's an excerpt of what Irving was told after repeatedly explaining he wanted to go to college instead of joining the army:
"You want to go to school? You will not get no loans, because all college loans are federal and government loans--so you'll be black barred from that. As soon as you get pulled over for a speeding ticket, they're gonna see you're a deserter, they're going to apprehend you, take you to jail.
"So guess what? All that lovey-dovey 'I wanna go to college' and all that? Guess what? You just threw it out the window, because you just screwed your life."
So how would you know if a military recruiter was lying to you? And even if you did know they were lying, whom would you go to? Who could you tell?
Worse yet, how many teenagers are in Iraq and Afghanistan right now because they were told they didn't have a choice?
To take action on this issue visit: http://www.notevenone.org
Note: This post originally ran at http://wiretapmag.org/blogs/rights/43679
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Good to see some WireTap
Good to see some WireTap crossposting, and always a delight to hear from a Leadership Academy grad.
Pardon my lack of familiarity with this, but what are the advantages of signing up for the Delayed Entry Program? Is there an up-front cash bonus or some other enticement, or is it just a way of ensuring yourself a spot?
(The mildly abrasive about.com article isn't very informative on this point, suggesting that basic training "slots" are booked months in advance "in these times." Allow me to stifle my skepticism for a moment. At least its second page confirms clearly that "If a recruiter (or anyone else) tells you that you can't get out of the DEP, they are lying to you.")
One-on-one resources: Here's some information about helping Delayed Entry Program members out and getting out of the Delayed Enlistment Program.
P.S. Broken links, oh no! The first link may have moved for good. More importantly, though, the Not Even One take action link is here.
Advantages of Delayed Entry (from a recruitment perspective)
I guess the Army is just trying to exploit the fact that most folks are more comfortable making commitments to things in the future rather than commitments to things the present. It's like those ads: buy now with zero down-payment, put in on layaway, etc. etc.
Young people can be told, 'hey, why not just sign up? it's not a commitment or anything. you can always change your mind.' And then when they DO change their mind, the Army can really put the pressure on (in both legal and illegal ways).
As for why young people would think it's a better way to go, according to the interview with Irving and Eric, they were made to think that this would 'save a spot' for them. Of course, it's not like there's a shortage of spots in the Army these days, so you're right, that seems a little silly.
That makes sense.
Clever of the recruiters to pitch the "scarcity of spots." Nobody wants to go if they're begged, but competition for something framed as a selective opportunity is significantly more attractive. (Hey, if it works for the Marines...)
It's too bad that word of the military's recruiting shortfalls and dramatic loosening of restrictions — still no out gays, of course, but much has been written about the new inclusion of folks with significant criminal records — apparently aren't reaching high schoolers. Context is important.