Military Recruitment

Anti-Recruitment in DeKalb and Sycamore

For a number of years now, the Interfaith Network has been active in anti-recruitment at DeKalb High School. Military recruitment in schools was increased during the Bush administration with the introduction of No Child Left Behind. This law stipulates that schools receiving federal funding have to open their doors to military recruitment and give the military access to students records. The only way to ensure that a high schooler does not receive recruitment materials is through "opting out" which can be done at the beginning of the school years.

The Network makes students aware of their rights, provides them with information about what life in the military is really like, and also promotes alternative ways to serve their nation.

UPDATE: This 2010 school year, the Network is no longer allowed to provide information in a prominent place as students attend lunch. Instead, we are hidden away in a seldom-used corridor. IS THIS FREEDOM OF INFORMATION?

Here are some places where students can find more background information:

In a recent NY Times article, Captain Shannon P. Meehan (Ret.) who was a tank platoon leadere for the 1st Cavalry Division of the U.S. Army, and who wrote "Beyond Duty" chronicling his Iraq ware experiences, wrote:

"War erodes one’s regard for human life. Soldiers cause or witness so many deaths and disappearances that it becomes routine. It becomes an accepted part of existence. After a while, you can begin to lose regard for your own life as well. So many around you have already died, why should it matter if you go next? This is why so many soldiers self-destruct when they return from a deployment." Read more here

How Video Games are the Army’s Best Recruitment Tool

Among other responsibilities, the Optional Protocol requires that any recruitment of a child under 17 take place only with the approval of a parent or guardian. Yet parental consent in not required to play America’s Army. This is one of many reasons that citizens and parents must demand that Congress close down this project. Read More…

Learn More About How to Become a Conscientious Objector and about myths told by military recruiters. Read more……

Hear First Hand What Veterans have to say. Read more…..

For more information also visit:

Leave My Child Alone

I will not kill

War Resisters' League