Military recruiters tour the country selling a dangerous product with glamorous ads, just like tobacco companies or drug pushers. The ads promise opportunity and adventure -- but don't believe the hype.

1. Joining the military is hazardous to your education.

The military isn't a generous financial aid institution, and it isn't concerned with helping you pay for school. Two-thirds of all recruits never get any college funding from the military. Only 15% graduated with a four-year degree.

What about going to school while you're in? Many GIs report that military life leaves them too busy and exhausted -- and doesn't really make time for them to go to class.

2. Joining the military is hazardous to your future.

Joining the military is a dead end. After you've spent a few years in the military, you're 2 to 5 times more likely to be homeless than your friends who never joined. And, according to the VA, you'll probably earn less too. The skills you learn in the military will be geared to military jobs, not civilian careers; when you come out, many employers will tell you to go back to school and get some real training. As former Secretary of Defense Cheney declared, "The reason to have a military is to be prepared to fight and win wars...it's not a jobs program."

3. Joining the military is hazardous to people of color.

During the Gulf War, over 50 percent of front-line troops were people of color. Overall, over 30 percent of enlisted personnel but only 12 percent of officers are people of color, who are then disciplined and discharged under other than honorable conditions at a much higher rate than whites. When recent studies showed a slight dip in young African-Americans' (disproportionately high) interest in the military, the Pentagon reacted with a new ad campaign. They're targeting Latino youth with special Spanish-language ads. The recruiters' lethal result: tracking high achieving young people in communities of color into a dead-end, deadly occupation.

4. Joining the military is hazardous to women.

Sexual harassment and assault are a daily reality for the overwhelming majority of women in the armed forces. The VA's own figures show 90 percent of recent women veterans reporting harassment - a third of whom were raped. Despite the glossy brochures that advertise "opportunities for women," the military's inherent sexism is evident from sergeants shouting "girl!" at trainees who don't "measure up," to the intimidation of women who speak out about harassment and discrimination - not to mention military men's sexual abuse of civilian women in base communities.

5. Joining the military is hazardous to your civil rights.

If you aren't willing to give up your rights, the military isn't for you. Once you enlist, you become military property: you lose your right to come and go freely, you're ordered around 24 hours a day, and you can be punished by your command without trial or jury. Free speech rights are severely limited in the military. You can be punished for being honest about being lesbian, gay or bisexual. Worst of all even if you hate your job, you can't quit.

6. Joining the military is hazardous to your health.

The military can't guarantee you'll be alive at the end of your eight-year commitment: they can't even promise you won't be desperately ill from "mystery illnesses" like those of the Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars. Whether it's atomic testing in the 1950s, Agent Orange during the war against Vietnam, or experimental vaccines and toxic weapons in the Persian Gulf, the military shamelessly destroys the health of its personnel -- and then does its best to downplay and ignore their suffering.

7. Joining the military is hazardous to the environment.

The US military is the single largest and worst polluter in the world, from toxins at bases to nuclear-tipped missiles to the destruction of ecosystems from South Vietnam to the Persian Gulf. And in today's military, the tanks and weapons are coated with depleted uranium from toxic nuclear waste!

8. Joining the military is hazardous to our lives.

The "adventure" in the commercials is code for war, the "discipline" code for violence. The military trains recruits to employ deadly force, yet recruiters rarely discuss the dehumanizing process of basic training, the psychological costs of killing, or the horrors of war.

The ads lie because the product is lethal -- not just to you, but to all of us.

For more information contact or write:

Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors:

630 20th Street #302,
Oakland, CA 94612
510-465-1617
Fax 510 465-2459

or

1515 Cherry Street,
Philadelphia, PA 19102
215-563-8787
Fax 215-567-2096

Argue.... I mean, debate.

The elite of the socioeconomic food chain will never send their sons and daughters to war although they typically are responsible for the decisions that lead to it.

*bows down to brandon* I AM NOT WORTHY. I AM NOT WORTHY. </end idiocity>

honestly, though. do you really think these facts are going to slow down enlistment (sp?) in the US military? i think not. the only real reason people join is so that they can recieve money for college. but many of those who want that aren't guaranteed that. it seems quite ridiculous to me that people don't realize that when you join the military, your life is automatically at risk. anyone with common sense would know that.

thanx but i wasn't planning on it anyway

anyways joining the military, to be blunt, is stupid. its a nowhere life that leads yout to the bottom of society. unless ur a west point graduate (or any of the other military acadamies), ur not doing anything after that.

You don't always have to be a graduate from a military school just to get high up or become an officer.. And joining the military doesn't lead you to the bottom of the society. The military provides you with a place to stay, and sometimes even gives you a job. For some people who aren't doing so great in school and have no place to go after high school, other then the streets, its better to join the military they provide you with a job to get through life. Joining the military is hazardous, but there are many other jobs in this world that is hazardous.

My dad joined the military and he is the smartest man I know, and hardest working man I know. My dad says that instead of whining and crying about our country he decided to serve it. My grandpa was in the military too. THey are both fine men.


This is because they are trained to go into war.

So your conclusion that every man of the armed forces is a fine man? Or that by joining the military yourself, you'd find complete content in what you're doing? Be real here.

I feel that joining the millarty ( sorry i can't spell) Shoul be a last resort

I feel that joining the millarty ( sorry i can't spell) Shoul be a last resort

If I did join the military myself, not that I would cuase I want to do something different with my life, it would be because I choose to and I want to serve my country respectably (sp) and joining the military does help you. In a way it does. The military just does their job. Without the military do you suppose this country would be a better country? I think not.

That would be your decision, and your personal feelings. Every individual who joins the military has a different reason for joining. At tiems its a last resort, other times its to get out of a bad situation. But it isn't often that you meet people with a personal agenda making claims like, "I'd like to die while fighting for my country so I'm going to leave my wife and two kids and join the Army." How illogical is that?

Are you a minority? I hate to drop the race joker, but if you were black or hispanic, you'd be able to understand the disadvantages a bit better.

My argument wasn't that the idea of military is "bad," but what has been going on habitually behind the scenes for nearly a century needs to be addressed and until issues are resolved, then joining the military (especially as minority) isn't the wisest choice.

Absolutely. Many judges have offered enlistement in the military as an alternative to incarceration.

Implying that militaristic servitude is punishment. 9 Reasons Not to Join the Military?

Good point.

Half of those are only if you do reserve. I mean, if you go active, you not only have everything payed for, you also get retirement. My grandpa racked in about $10,000 a month when he retired. He was at Pay Grade: O10 (He was a General) though.

I especially like number #8, that applies to people in combat, someone that works at say the NOC, or on satellites during war time, I don’t think any bullets will be coming there way. “recruiters rarely discuss the dehumanizing process of basic training” what’s so dehumanizing about Basic, being called a maggot, or getting paid to get in shape? Basic Training only enhances your instinct of survival of the fittest.

I leave this summer anyway, so I have a good idea of what to expect. Some people use it as a last resort, I am doing it because I have wanted to for a while, I don’t need the money.

Out of curiousity, are you going to be a medic?

No, SAT Com.

Then after that, Warrent Officer school, then Aviation to fly the good-ole Black Hawk....

Best of luck to you. I'm not downing the military at all. I'm 50/50 on the matter. I grew up wanting to be a Marine and then I opened my mind to politics and current events.

HOWEVER...

to believe that joining the military is as wonderful as the propoganda makes it out to be (videogames, commercials, movies) is pretty naive.

i always thought it would be interesting to join and become a soldier. deep thought and research, however, have since moved me in the oppisite direction as the chances at a good quality of life (in my opinion) become slimmer.

What if the person was Asian?
Or Native American?
Or an Elf?

^elf?..hahah

im afraid to get shot

ima argue each single one.... just because ima tell the truth and im bored.

#1... How is joining the military hazardous to your education? okay.. maybe you haven't gotten all the stats.. after you go to training, and learn life skills and something they like to call ATTENTION to Order which means.. if you don't know how to fix your bed or locker, how does someone expect you to work on an airplane, or even make a sandwhich.. you can't move on from week 1 if you can't do this and if u mess up in the later weeks.. you get pulled a week or two... Some trainees can spend over 10 weeks on a 6 week boot camp.... okay the GI Bill? ever heard of it? after boot camp, you can put in, lets say.. $1000... after your 4 years.. you come out with $10,000 or something like that.. idk but ask anyone enlisted that knows the facts, it's a good deal and i'd do it but i'm too stupid to enlist.


#2... getting a job?... okay let's say.. who are u gonna hire.. a high school diploma or drop out or a retired US Marine? idk.. even if i were to apply at Mcdonalds.. the Marine will get the job. idk how you get this low skill idea.. BECAUSE when you enlist, you get to choose a job, you could be a mechanic, fighter, logistics or something, and after your contract ends, you could leave the job you have choosen to learn or leave. You also leave the military with certifications and degrees... they do go to school there.

#3... There ain't nothing with the military and color... they just want diversity... did you know in the next 20 years, Hispanics are gonna be the majority in the U.S? The reason most colored people are in the front lines is because they choose to do those jobs. Some jobs are most suitable for others. BEFORE YOU EVEN ENLIST, you take the ASVAB and that's a aptitute test that tells you of the possible jobs your suited for.. you can't alwyas be a jet fighter but u could be a technian instead.. that's how jobs work...


#4...hazardous to women? i think its dangerous to live outside of a base.. this fact is just bogus.

#5... Civil Rights? you joined the military and you know what you get yourself into, its a contract.. The US military has its own court system outside the US system... you learn this in US Goverment. Once you enlist and say the oath, it's over. it's true, but it's not like they hide it from you.

#6... Health... anywhere you are, your always in danger.. you could enlist and become a firefighter (yes, they are firefighters in the military bases), doesnt mean your gonna be as safe as a firefighter outside of a US Base... you pick the job and you learn the risks, thats how it works.

#7... Enviroment? what isn't safe these days?

#8... this last one is just stupid... do u really know what goes on at Boot Camp? yes, they do get burned and what not BUT they go to school, the eat, they PT, they train, they get ready for the lives ahead of them, not everyone is gonna be a soldier, i might become a P.A. and give tours around the base to kids from a school.. i might be a MP and be a security guard at the entrance of a base in the middle of San Antonio texas.. they ain't brainwashed..



thisarticle sounds like alot of crap tho...

the best thing to do in life if you have nowhere to go is, join the military.. you have a better opportunities to do anything you want in life.. any job, the military has it... you could be mowing lawns in the military if you really wanted too.. the military pays u the 1st and 15th of every month and it's gonna be there.. you aren't gonna get screwed over by some job or layed off. the more commited you are, the higher rank you become, the more money you get.

The military isnt for everyone, it's for those who want to go out and make something of themselves.

I'm only a HS senior and i'm in AFJROTC.. i've been to AF bases, i've talked to recruiters (they never convince me tho), i know the facts, i have enlisted friends, i know what goes on... this article is alot of BS tho.

I got a friend who joined the National Guard.... he joined his junior year in HS.. went to boot camp that summer and came back the next school year.. he applyed to THE CITADEL and now the military is paying him through college. He's not the brightest guy i know too.

i got another friend who graduated two years ago.. he's guarding US weapons somewhere in wyoming or something. wild stuff. he's not in any danger.. okay, he is but atleast he's enjoying what he's doing, has a job, getting paid, and made alot friends in the way too.

another girl just enlisted, she's in school at Lackland AFB. she graduated last year, awesome friend still. no problems heard from her.

and thats all i want to mention...

I don't want to get shot. That's my only reason not wanting to join the military.

You shouldn't be allowed in the debate forum.

1. Mongomery GI Bill. Invest $100 a month for a year, you will get $36k towards college. Invest for a extra 4 months and get $48k towards college. Once you step foot in bootcamp, your earnin colleg credits. Anytime they train you yur gettin college credits.

2. Geared towards military job? Do you mean government job? This is false. Right now my job is a eletronic technician. I'm pretty sure I can easily find a cilivian job once i leave the service. I know a guy who lefted the service after he did his 5 years. Got a job in less then a week and is gettin paid $150k/yr. Doubt anyone can earn that much straight out of college without no type of experience what soever. You can go Nuke, leave after your 6 years and EASILY make $200k a year.

3. Recruiters does not target a specific race. You either walk into their office and request some info or request them online.

4. There are more sexual assualt and harrassment on women outside the service.

5. They tell you what you are giving up before you sign on the dotted line and say yur oath. If your scared to lose your rights, dont join at all. Simple as that.

6. Last time i check its dangerous to work at construction sites, hospitals, work in law enforcement. Its a dangerous world we live in. Get use to it.

7. Too late to save our planet now. Getting rid of the military wont accomplish squat.

8. Heh. Dehumanizing? Its more like a mental game they play. A mental game where they weed out the weak and strong. If you cant keep your area clean or follow directions, who would trust you in handling missles or drivin the boat? Sure they chew you out. Its like your parents yellin at you only 10x worse. Yes soldiers are trained to kill but that doesnt mean they run around shooting everything that moves. They only shoot when they are endangered. Its either kill or get killed.

Right now im stationed in Groton, CT. Im still in school and still will be for the next year. Im getting paid just to learn.