Fighting Economic Conscription

You've probably heard the term "poverty draft." Today's military tells young people from low-income families that the military's their best option -- perhaps their only one.

Overall, the Pentagon spends nearly $2 billion a year targeting high-achieving low-income youth with commercials, personal visits and brochures. They take advantage of an economy that increasingly squeezes out those without a college degree, the gutting of college financial aid, and the collapse of affordable housing. They never mention that the college money is difficult to come by, or that very few job skills are transferable from military to civilian life. They leave out the likelihood of sexist, homophobic and racist harassment in the military -- as well as the realities of injury, illness, combat and war.

CCCO works against the poverty draft in two ways. We work to counter the recruiters' lies and get the word out to young people before they sign up. And we're there for those who, once they've signed up, realize their mistake and don't know where to turn.

Stopping the Military Invasion of Our Schools

As you may know, more and more high schools are willing to serve as recruiting stations -- allowing recruiter presentations in classrooms, hosting the military's recruiting vans and their traveling high-tech theater, even integrating military training into their curriculum in the so-called Junior Reserve Officers Training Program (JROTC).

CCCO's Military Out of Our Schools Campaign works with hundreds of parents, teachers and activists across the country, challenging schools to reject the recruiters and their false promises. We talk to school boards, administrators, teachers, and students themselves, working to counter the slick lies by exposing the realities of military life.

The GI Rights Hotline

Unfortunately, we don't reach everyone. A lot of young people don't learn the truth behind the recruiters' fast talk until after they've signed up. Tens-of-thousands of GIs every year are discriminated against, harassed, hazed, abused by officers, and isolated from their families. Many realize that, in fact, they are conscientious objectors - and feel trapped in an institution whose value system is based on violence.

As co-sponsor of the GI Rights Hotline, CCCO takes calls every week from young people who want out, most of whom have called our national hotline: (800) 394-9544. We're reaching out to military bases, especially basic training camps. We reach out to young people enrolled in the Delayed Entry Program (DEP), many of whom change their minds once they recover from the recruiter's double-talk. We work with those who've experienced military injustice.