Fortunate Son~ Creedence Clearwater Revival”Information is subject to change”.

That is what is written in the teeny, tiny fine print on the latest piece of Army recruitment crap to, this time, arrive in our mailbox. A few weeks ago I posted a piece “Death via in box”, talking about the Patriot Act e mail access the recruiters are given for College students. The recruitment push is relentless. This piece could be called “Death via Mailbox”.

I want to draw attention to the actual military enlistment contract itself. Section 9 (the fine print on the back of the enlistment contract agreement).

9. FOR ALL ENLISTEES OR REENLISTEES: Many laws, regulations, and military customs will govern my conduct and require me to do things a civilian does not have to do. The following statements are not promises or guarantees of any kind. They explain some of the present laws affecting the Armed Forces which I cannot change but which Congress can change at any time

a. My enlistment is more than an employment agreement…

b. “Laws and regulations that govern military personnel may change without notice to me. Such changes may affect my status, pay, allowances and benefits and responsibilities as a member of the Armed Forces REGARDLESS of the provisions of this enlistment/reenlistment document.”
(Their emphasis, the word “REGARDLESS” appears in all caps, & bold text in the contract.)

c. In the event of war, my enlistment in the Armed Forces continues until six (6) months after the war ends, unless my enlistment is ended sooner by the President of the United States.

When you enlist, and ALL armed forces must sign this contract, this little clause basically says we can do anything we want, once you sign. This is the part that makes the back door draft “legal”- repeated tours of duty & requirement to continue to be in active military status, long after the original time listed in the contract, has expired.

I’m no lawyer, but I can’t imagine any situation under which an “anything goes” clause in a contract, would be wise???

Back to the recruitment flyer~ look at the “potential” perks being promised (remember Section 9-B can void it al):

• Civilian skills bonus of up to $20,000
• Savings matching plan
• Up to $10,000 to repay qualifying student loans
• Up to 72,900 for college tuition
• Education bonus of up tp $6,000

The marketing is slick- this one comes with an offer of a flimsy (like the contract?) “free” Army backpack.

The flyer goes on to say “It may be called basic training, but you’ll be learning some pretty advanced stuff.” (that’s a direct quote). Next comes advanced training- where you’ve got over 150 “careers” to choose from, in the active Army. “From signal support systems specialist to multimedia illustrator, from broadcast journalist to intelligence agent- and a whole lot in between.”

I suppose all those gimmicks do sound better than saying “sign this line & your ass will be shipping out to Iraq or Afghanistan for as long as we decide”. These flyers & ads ALWAYS ask you to “invite or tell a friend”. Hell of a way to ruin a friendship.

Counter recruitment info highlights these facts:

The G.I. Bill offers up to $50,000 + for college. In reality, 57% receive none of this money; while 23% receive only half of the offered amount. One must also be honorably discharged, which 25% of veterans are not.

Facts:

Due to a new military policy, everyone is opted into the GI Bill by default.

$100 per month will be taken from your pay, for the first year in military, and will go towards the GI Bill plan.
1 out of 3 people never see any money even though they pay into the fund (Commission on Service Members & Veterans Transition Assistance)

One must opt out, in order to not be signed up for the GI Bill.

Because the GI Bill is issued as a stipend, it actually lowers what you could get for financial aid since it counts as income. This will work against you when applying for financial aid for college!

The Pentagon spends $326 million on advertising alone each year, while the U.S. Army spends a separate $250 million on advertising, according to Ad Age Buyer. $200 million has been spent on the new ‘Army Strong’ campaign. All of this money comes out of federal taxes - we, the American people, pay for it.

Because I have *draft age children*, we get the direct hit of The Marketing of Militarization.
Don’t get me wrong, I respect those who make the choice to put their lives on the line, and serve their country.
I have to question how their country has served and treated them, as well as the tricks they use to get people to enlist.
It would be disturbing in & of itself, but what they are doing is using slick, trendy, marketing tactics via multi media approaches to get my offspring to literally join the ranks, and be soldiers for Bush, in a war based on lies. We just witnessed another serving of lies, re Iran. The attempted build up, with references to Nuclear attacks, and illuding to our Country’s need to invade, in order to prevent WWIII, based on misinformation. The one thing we CAN count on?

Information is subject to change.

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