Activists, parents ask equal time for 'other side' of military life

As military recruiting increases, some concerned parents and peace activists are asking equal time on high school campuses to tell "the other side of the story."

At a meeting of "counterrecruiters" last week, Mike Yarrow, with the non-violent group Western Washington Fellowship of Reconciliation, said he worries slick military presentations paint a glittering and unrealistic picture of life in the military.

Students, he said, need enough balanced information to "make an informed decision about something that could mean their death, or mean killing someone else, something that could haunt them for a lifetime."

Counterrecruitment racks are already in place in a number of Seattle high schools. Stacked in them are handouts titled "Financing College Without Joining the Military," "Ten Points to Consider Before You Sign a Military Enlistment Agreement" and "The Military's Not Just a Job."

Some teachers have invited activists, clergy and civic leaders into the classroom to present alternative points of view. One is Howard Welsh, conscientious objector, nurse and former combat medic in Vietnam.

In presentations around the state, Welsh advises young conscientious-objectors-in-training to meet the recruiters on campus, explain why they oppose war, then ask for a business card for their records and follow-up with letters.

It creates a paper trail -- along with correspondence to congressional representatives, letters to newspapers and handwritten notes on Selective Service System registration cards: "Please remember that I am a conscientious objector."

Vietnam vet Mike Dedrick offers a different kind of advice on recruiters as counselor with the G.I. Rights Hotline (1-800-394-9544). He gets calls from teens confused by contracts for early-entry programs, which delay boot camp for up to a year. The contracts can be broken any time before the year's up, but many students don't know that -- and recruiters don't all tell them, Dedrick says.

The Vietnam vet also has been busy writing school boards, asking for better exposure for non-military views. "I think schools should provide students base-line information that gives an honest look at education benefits, the real risks of war, the mental and physical costs, the underfunded VA care and how useful military training actually is in civilian life."

At Rainier Beach High School, career counselors have found an interesting balance through scheduling. For one -- and only one -- lunch hour a month, peace activists, college recruiters and military recruiters, all branches, meet students at the same time, same room. Career center specialist Barbara Quintana says the peer pressure keeps recruiters from making unrealistic promises. "One hears what the other says."

Shutting the door on military recruiters would not be a good move, Quintana says. "For God's sake, we do need a military. It's unfortunate, but we do. ... But I don't want them hounding these kids, either."

By M.L. LYKE SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER