Counter-recruitment
Encyclopedia
Counter-recruitment is a strategy often taken up to oppose war
. Counter-recruitment is an attempt to prevent military recruiters from enlisting civilians into the military. There are several methods commonly utilized in a counter-recruitment campaign, ranging from the political speech
to direct action. Such a campaign can also target entities connected to the military, such as intelligence agencies, or private corporations, especially those with defense contracts.
and other anti-war
groups) received a boost in the United States with the somewhat unpopularity of the war in Iraq
and brief recruitment difficulties of branches of the U.S. military, particularly the Army
; although the Army has met, or exceeded, its recruitment goals year after year during that period.. Beginning in early 2005, the U.S. counter-recruitment movement grew, particularly on high school
and college
campuses, where it is often led by students who see themselves as targeted for military service in a war they do not support.
in 1973, just after the end of the Vietnam War
. The military increased its recruiting efforts, with the total number of recruiters, recruiting stations, and dollars spent on recruiting each more than doubling between 1971 and 1974. Anti-war and anti-draft activists responded with a number of initiatives, using tactics similar to those used by counter-recruiters today. Activists distributed leaflets to students, publicly debated recruiters, and used equal-access provisions to obtain space next to recruiters to dispute their claims. The American Friends Service Committee
(A.F.S.C.) and the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors
(C.C.C.O.) began publishing counter-recruitment literature and attempting to coordinate the movement nationally. These organizations have been continuously involved in counter-recruitment to the present day.
The most common policy goal is that the frequency of military recruiters' visits to public schools, their locations in schools, and their types of activities be controlled rather than unlimited. Many of the larger urban school districts have implemented such guidelines since 2001.
Other goals have included "truth in recruiting", that counselors or curriculum elements be implemented to address the deficiency in high school students' understanding of war and the military life, rather than allowing military recruiters to perform that role.
On high school campuses, counter-recruitment activists since 2001 have also focused around a provision of the No Child Left Behind Act
, which requires that high schools provide contact and other information to the military for all of their students who do not opt out.
Counter-recruitment campaigns have attempted to change school policy to ban recruiters regardless of the loss of federal funds, to be active about informing students of their ability to opt out, and/or to allow counter-recruiters access to students equal to the access given to military recruiters. These political campaigns have had some success, particularly in the Los Angeles
area, where one has been led by the Coalition Against Militarism in Our Schools
, and the San Francisco Bay Area
. A simpler and easier, though perhaps less effective, strategy by counter-recruiters has been to show up before or after the school day and provide students entering or exiting their school with opt-out forms, produced by the local school district or by a sympathetic national legal organization such as the American Civil Liberties Union
or the National Lawyers Guild
.
Organizations which have attempted to organize such campaigns on a national scale include A.F.S.C. and C.C.C.O., the Campus Antiwar Network
(C.A.N.), and the War Resisters League
. Code Pink
, with the Ruckus Society
, has sponsored training camps on counter-recruitment as well as producing informational literature for use by counter-recruiters. United for Peace and Justice
has counter-recruitment as one of its seven issue-specific campaigns. Mennonite Central Committee is another resource on the subject.
, City College of New York
, University of Illinois at Chicago
, UC Santa Cruz, and (in the first and perhaps most-known protest, as president Bush
was being inaugurated) Seattle Central Community College
, as well as disrupting recruitment at countless others. A common method against military recruitment at schools which have non-discrimination policies that protect lesbian
, gay
, bisexual and transgender
students has been to demand that military recruitment be prevented in order to comply with these policies, as these schools consider the Don't ask, don't tell
policy discriminatory against LGBT persons; however, with the repeal of DADT, the services are open to homosexuals.
C.A.N. also organized nationally coordinated student counter-recruitment protests on December 6, 2005, as the Supreme Court
heard arguments in Rumsfeld v. FAIR to decide the legality of the Solomon Amendment
, which requires universities to allow military recruiters or forfeit their federal funding.
At colleges and universities, counter-recruitment activities have resulted in discipline from university administrators, who have threatened activists with penalties including expulsion, and law enforcement, who have arrested and sometimes used physical violence against activists engaged in counter-recruitment protest. C.A.N. says that it has faced ten "major free speech cases" relating to its counter-recruitment activities. In every case, all charges against students were dropped after a public defense campaign was waged. Many counter-recruitment activities at universities also appear in the Pentagon's surveillance database of anti-war protests, a portion of which was leaked to NBC in December 2005.
in San Francisco on November 5, 2005. This proposition, which does not carry enforcement power, declared the city's opposition to military recruitment in public high schools and universities and stated that money should instead be directed toward scholarships. It was written by Todd Chretien
.
In addition to the general debates supporting or opposing war, or particular wars, and the alleged connection of the military to homophobia
, sexism
, racism
, militarism
, and imperialism
, there are debates about the recruitment process itself. These debates, listed below, do not include Recruiter Improprieties which are specifically defined in military regulations and orders, or crimes such as sexual contact with minors, since both the military as well as counter-recruiters are strongly opposed to them.
. This is true in Ireland especially as the campaigns for independence from the British Empire intensified. The British Army raised many regiments from English colonies to fight in conflicts such as the Crimean War
, World War I
, and World War II
. Irish songs opposing recruitment to the British army that date from the mid-19th century provide some evidence that this colonial policy was resisted - examples include Arthur McBride
, Mrs. McGrath
, and Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye
. However this cultural resistance is itself indicative of just how widespread military recruitment actually was in Ireland at the time. Many Irish people continued to be recruited in Ireland to fight in colonial regiments until World War I. The Irish Home Rule Movement decided to support English military recruitment in Ireland in the hope that by acting as loyal subjects of the empire the empire would feel indebted to Ireland and grant it independence. As the Irish independence movement shifted from parliamentary to extra parliamentary channels after the 1916 Rising, and moving towards the Irish War of Independence
, there was a shift away from the earlier strategic support for recruitment to the British Army. The Irish War of Independence targeted police stations and this led to the replacement of colonial law enforced by the Royal Irish Constabulary
with martial law enforced by the British Army. In this context, joining the British Army was no longer joining an army to fight wars overseas but joining an organisation that was actually fighting a war in Ireland. A cultural understanding of joining the British Army as a kind of collaboration with an oppressive Empire then developed. This opposition to military recruitment was more motivated by nationalism
than pacifism or opposition to militarism per se and often coincided with support for Irish para-military organisations such as the Irish Volunteers
and Irish Republican Brotherhood
. After the Irish War of Independence the British Army no longer operated in the Southern Republic of Ireland
and Irish people continued to join the British Army for economic reasons as they had done when Ireland was still part of the British Empire though now they had to first travel to England in order to do so. The continued presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland meant, especially during the height of "the troubles" between the 1970s and 1990s, meant that military recruitment to the British Army was still a highly political issue. Depending on your point of view, there was either widespread popular resistance to the British Military in Northern Ireland or the Irish Republican Army
violently enforced non-cooperation with all aspects of the British government in the nationalist communities they controlled.
There has been little or no opposition in Ireland to recruitment for the official Irish army known as the Irish Defence Forces
which are often described primarily as peacekeepers
despite their participation in dubious UN interventions in recently liberated former colonies such as the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)
in the 1960s.
' role as a member of the International Security Assistance Force
in Afghanistan, an anti-war movement developed in Canada which has tried to utilize counter-recruitment as a part of its efforts. In particular, Operation Objection emerged as the umbrella counter-recruitment campaign in Canada. Operation Objection claimed to have active counter-recruitment operations in 8 to 10 Canadian cities. However, coordinated attempts at counter-recruitment activism in Canada have been fairly limited as of late, and for the most part, unsuccessful.
In the 2005-06 academic year at York University
, the York Federation of Students
, a federation representing ten of the university's student unions, clashed with a Canadian Forces recruiter forcibly removing the recruiter and the kiosk from the Student Center. York University maintains that the Canadian Forces have the same right to recruit as any other employer participating in career fairs on campus.
On October 25, 2007, an attempt by the student union at the University of Victoria
to ban Canadian Forces from participating in career fairs on campus failed when the student body voted overwhelmingly in favor of allowing the Canadian military to participate in recruitment and career development activities available to students. Approximately 500 students, five times the usual attendance, appeared at the Annual General Meeting of the University of Victoria Students' Society
(UVSS), and voted to defeat the motion proposed to stop the Canadian Forces from appearing on campus at career development events, with an estimated 25 votes in favor of the ban. Those voting against the ban argued that the ban was a restriction on freedom of choice and an infringement of students' free speech, that it went beyond the mandate of student government, and that student union executives should not be advocating policy that does not reflect the views of the fee-paying student body.
In November 2007, the Minister of Education for Prince Edward Island
, Gerard Greenan
, was requested by the Council of Canadians to ban military recruitment on PEI campuses. The Minister responded that military service "is a career and... we think its right to let the Armed Forces have a chance to present this option to students."
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
. Counter-recruitment is an attempt to prevent military recruiters from enlisting civilians into the military. There are several methods commonly utilized in a counter-recruitment campaign, ranging from the political speech
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
to direct action. Such a campaign can also target entities connected to the military, such as intelligence agencies, or private corporations, especially those with defense contracts.
In the United States
Counter-recruitment (which has long been a strategy of pacifistPacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
and other anti-war
Anti-war
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...
groups) received a boost in the United States with the somewhat unpopularity of the war in Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
and brief recruitment difficulties of branches of the U.S. military, particularly the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
; although the Army has met, or exceeded, its recruitment goals year after year during that period.. Beginning in early 2005, the U.S. counter-recruitment movement grew, particularly on high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
and college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
campuses, where it is often led by students who see themselves as targeted for military service in a war they do not support.
Early history
The counter-recruitment movement was the successor to the anti-draft movement with the end of conscription in the United StatesConscription in the United States
Conscription in the United States has been employed several times, usually during war but also during the nominal peace of the Cold War...
in 1973, just after the end of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. The military increased its recruiting efforts, with the total number of recruiters, recruiting stations, and dollars spent on recruiting each more than doubling between 1971 and 1974. Anti-war and anti-draft activists responded with a number of initiatives, using tactics similar to those used by counter-recruiters today. Activists distributed leaflets to students, publicly debated recruiters, and used equal-access provisions to obtain space next to recruiters to dispute their claims. The American Friends Service Committee
American Friends Service Committee
The American Friends Service Committee is a Religious Society of Friends affiliated organization which works for peace and social justice in the United States and around the world...
(A.F.S.C.) and the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors
Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors
The Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors is a United States organization founded in 1948 and dedicated to helping people avoid or resist military enlistment...
(C.C.C.O.) began publishing counter-recruitment literature and attempting to coordinate the movement nationally. These organizations have been continuously involved in counter-recruitment to the present day.
High schools
Most counter-recruitment work in the U.S. is focused at the policy level of public school systems. This work is generally done by parents and grandparents of school-aged children, and the most common activity is information and advocacy with school officials (principals, school boards, etc.) and with the general population in their local school area. CR at the K12 level is categorically different from other movements, since most of the students are underaged minors and parents are their legal custodians and guardians, not the schools.The most common policy goal is that the frequency of military recruiters' visits to public schools, their locations in schools, and their types of activities be controlled rather than unlimited. Many of the larger urban school districts have implemented such guidelines since 2001.
Other goals have included "truth in recruiting", that counselors or curriculum elements be implemented to address the deficiency in high school students' understanding of war and the military life, rather than allowing military recruiters to perform that role.
On high school campuses, counter-recruitment activists since 2001 have also focused around a provision of the No Child Left Behind Act
No Child Left Behind Act
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is a United States Act of Congress concerning the education of children in public schools.NCLB was originally proposed by the administration of George W. Bush immediately after he took office...
, which requires that high schools provide contact and other information to the military for all of their students who do not opt out.
Counter-recruitment campaigns have attempted to change school policy to ban recruiters regardless of the loss of federal funds, to be active about informing students of their ability to opt out, and/or to allow counter-recruiters access to students equal to the access given to military recruiters. These political campaigns have had some success, particularly in the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
area, where one has been led by the Coalition Against Militarism in Our Schools
Coalition Against Militarism in Our Schools
The Coalition Against Militarism In Our Schools , now called the Coalition For Alternatives to Militarism in Our Schools) is a non-profit group of educators, students, parents and community activists working against increased militarism in America's public schools, formed in 2004 by some 50 of the...
, and the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. A simpler and easier, though perhaps less effective, strategy by counter-recruiters has been to show up before or after the school day and provide students entering or exiting their school with opt-out forms, produced by the local school district or by a sympathetic national legal organization such as the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
or the National Lawyers Guild
National Lawyers Guild
The National Lawyers Guild is an advocacy group in the United States "dedicated to the need for basic and progressive change in the structure of our political and economic system . ....
.
Organizations which have attempted to organize such campaigns on a national scale include A.F.S.C. and C.C.C.O., the Campus Antiwar Network
Campus Antiwar Network
Campus Antiwar Network is an American independent grassroots network of students opposing the occupation of Iraq and military recruiters in US schools...
(C.A.N.), and the War Resisters League
War Resisters League
The War Resisters League was formed in 1923 by men and women who had opposed World War I. It is a section of the London-based War Resisters' International.Many of the founders had been jailed during World War I for refusing military service...
. Code Pink
Code Pink
Code Pink: Women for Peace is an anti-war group that is mainly composed of women. It has regional offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City, and Washington, D.C., and many more chapters in the U.S. as well as several in other countries...
, with the Ruckus Society
Ruckus Society
The Ruckus Society is a nonprofit organization that sponsors skill-sharing and direct action training camps for activists from impacted communities working on social justice, human rights, and environmental justice...
, has sponsored training camps on counter-recruitment as well as producing informational literature for use by counter-recruiters. United for Peace and Justice
United for Peace and Justice
United for Peace and Justice is a coalition of more than 1,300 international and U.S.-based organizations opposed to "our government's policy of permanent warfare and empire-building."...
has counter-recruitment as one of its seven issue-specific campaigns. Mennonite Central Committee is another resource on the subject.
Colleges and universities
On U.S. college campuses, C.A.N. claims its protests have chased recruiters off over a dozen schools since its founding in 2003, including San Francisco State UniversitySan Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
, City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
, University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois at Chicago, or UIC, is a state-funded public research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, near the Chicago Loop...
, UC Santa Cruz, and (in the first and perhaps most-known protest, as president Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
was being inaugurated) Seattle Central Community College
Seattle Central Community College
Seattle Central Community College is a community college located in Seattle, Washington, in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. It is one of the three colleges which make up the Seattle Community College District...
, as well as disrupting recruitment at countless others. A common method against military recruitment at schools which have non-discrimination policies that protect lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, bisexual and transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
students has been to demand that military recruitment be prevented in order to comply with these policies, as these schools consider the Don't ask, don't tell
Don't ask, don't tell
"Don't ask, don't tell" was the official United States policy on homosexuals serving in the military from December 21, 1993 to September 20, 2011. The policy prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants, while...
policy discriminatory against LGBT persons; however, with the repeal of DADT, the services are open to homosexuals.
C.A.N. also organized nationally coordinated student counter-recruitment protests on December 6, 2005, as the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
heard arguments in Rumsfeld v. FAIR to decide the legality of the Solomon Amendment
Solomon Amendment
The 1996 Solomon Amendment is the popular name of 10 U.S.C. § 983, a United States federal law that allows the Secretary of Defense to deny federal grants to institutions of higher education if they prohibit or prevent ROTC or military recruitment on campus.- History :Named for U.S. Representative...
, which requires universities to allow military recruiters or forfeit their federal funding.
At colleges and universities, counter-recruitment activities have resulted in discipline from university administrators, who have threatened activists with penalties including expulsion, and law enforcement, who have arrested and sometimes used physical violence against activists engaged in counter-recruitment protest. C.A.N. says that it has faced ten "major free speech cases" relating to its counter-recruitment activities. In every case, all charges against students were dropped after a public defense campaign was waged. Many counter-recruitment activities at universities also appear in the Pentagon's surveillance database of anti-war protests, a portion of which was leaked to NBC in December 2005.
Proposition I/College Not Combat
One significant result of the counter-recruitment movement was the passage, with 60% in support, of Proposition I/College Not CombatProposition I/College Not Combat
Proposition I was a ballot measure passed by residents of San Francisco, California on November 5, 2005, with 60% in support. This proposition, which does not carry enforcement power, declared the city's opposition to military recruitment in public high schools and universities and stated that...
in San Francisco on November 5, 2005. This proposition, which does not carry enforcement power, declared the city's opposition to military recruitment in public high schools and universities and stated that money should instead be directed toward scholarships. It was written by Todd Chretien
Todd Chretien
Todd Chretien , an American activist. Chretien is a leading member of the International Socialist Organization. He was the Green Party candidate for United States Senate in California in 2006.-Background:...
.
Arguments surrounding recruitment
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
, sexism
Sexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
, racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, militarism
Militarism
Militarism is defined as: the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests....
, and imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
, there are debates about the recruitment process itself. These debates, listed below, do not include Recruiter Improprieties which are specifically defined in military regulations and orders, or crimes such as sexual contact with minors, since both the military as well as counter-recruiters are strongly opposed to them.
- Whether recruiters exploit a lack of other options for underprivileged young people, in a phenomenon sometimes called the "Poverty Draft." Allegations have surfaced that imply a large majority of the enlisted population of the (US) military enlisted as a result of being unable to sustain employment or for lack of better options. USLAW under FOIA request, obtained the numbers of recruits by zip code, and showed significant correlation with low incomes. The DOD conducts large-scale surveys into youths' "propensity to enlist". Results available on Internet consistently show the top reasons youth enlist are money for college, job training and experience, and pay. Current recruiting CSM Stephan Frennier has refuted the allegation of a "Poverty Draft.".
- Whether recruiters are honest. Various investigations, such as one in May 2005 by Cincinnati's WLWT, have revealed dishonest conduct by individuals; a recruiter interviewed in the documentary Why We FightWhy We Fight (2005 film)Why We Fight, directed by Eugene Jarecki, is a 2006 documentary film about the military–industrial complex. The title refers to the World War II-era eponymous propaganda movies commissioned by the U.S...
notes that people in his profession have "the bad reputation of used car salesmen." Military defenders argue that the bad actions of a few shouldn't taint the whole. Counter-recruiters argue that high pressure on recruiters creates systemic dishonesty. The U.S. Army shut down its entire recruitment apparatus for a single day in 2005 in order to "refocus" on ethical conduct. - Whether the military will pay for an education. Through various programs, such as the G.I. Bill in the U.S., which offers up to $71,000, young people are given an incentive to join the military in the form of scholarships for college when their enlistments expire. This is the primary reason why many enlist; a young recruit interviewed in Why We Fight, William Solomon, cites this as his motivation. Counter-recruiters argue that this is a false hope, noting for example that 57% of those who apply for G.I. Bill benefits do not receive them, and that the average net payment to those who do is less than $2200. This is a consequence of various eligibility requirements; 65% of eligible veterans receive money.
- Whether military service provides job skills. Recruiters often suggest that personal and technical skills learned in the military will improve later employment prospects in civilian life, with very similar skills utilized for nursing and electronic and mechanical repair. Counter-recruiters claim that this does not apply to most recruits, citing for example a study in the U.S. which found that 12% of male and 6% of female veterans say they have used their military skills in their civilian careers. However, a study titled "Military Experience & CEOs: Is There a Link?" found that "leadership skills acquired during military training can absolutely enhance one’s chances for success in corporate life." Furthermore, the report cited was published in 1993 and does not account for how civilian hiring practices impact this statistic.
- Whether reform from within is a better solution than disassociation. Many who agree that there are problems in the military argue that these will be better solved if those who recognize them as problems gain influence in the military rather than avoiding it. Others argue in response that the military's problems are structural, and that its disciplinary hierarchy prevents successful internal pressure. This debate occurs mostly in narrower contexts, such as debates about whether left-wing activists should join the military or whether universities in the U.S. should have ROTC programs, rather than in discussions of general enlistment.
- Whether the military inaccurately promotes a "romanticized" view of combat - using catchphrases such as honor, courage, and service - and glosses over death, injury, and civilian suffering, in order to give recruits a "soft" vision of the job.
- Whether recruitment activities including JROTC violates the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
sponsored Convention on the Rights of the ChildConvention on the Rights of the ChildThe United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is a human rights treaty setting out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children...
by targeting students under the age of 17.
Resistance to military recruitment in Ireland
Military recruitment and resistance to it has historically been a significant political issue in colonies of the British EmpireBritish Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. This is true in Ireland especially as the campaigns for independence from the British Empire intensified. The British Army raised many regiments from English colonies to fight in conflicts such as the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
, World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Irish songs opposing recruitment to the British army that date from the mid-19th century provide some evidence that this colonial policy was resisted - examples include Arthur McBride
Arthur McBride
"Arthur McBride" is an Irish folk song. It was first collected around 1840 in Limerick, Ireland by Patrick Weston Joyce; also in Donegal by George Petrie. Several versions are found in Scotland, Suffolk and Devon - the tunes differing slightly...
, Mrs. McGrath
Mrs. McGrath
"Mrs. McGrath" is an Irish folk song. The song tells the story of a woman whose son enters the British Army, and returns seven years later having lost his legs to a cannonball fighting against Napoleon in the Peninsular War. The general theme of the song is one of opposition to war, the mother...
, and Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye
Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye
"Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye" is a popular traditional Irish anti-war and anti-recruiting song. It is generally dated to the early 19th century, when Irish troops served the British East India Company...
. However this cultural resistance is itself indicative of just how widespread military recruitment actually was in Ireland at the time. Many Irish people continued to be recruited in Ireland to fight in colonial regiments until World War I. The Irish Home Rule Movement decided to support English military recruitment in Ireland in the hope that by acting as loyal subjects of the empire the empire would feel indebted to Ireland and grant it independence. As the Irish independence movement shifted from parliamentary to extra parliamentary channels after the 1916 Rising, and moving towards the Irish War of Independence
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
, there was a shift away from the earlier strategic support for recruitment to the British Army. The Irish War of Independence targeted police stations and this led to the replacement of colonial law enforced by the Royal Irish Constabulary
Royal Irish Constabulary
The armed Royal Irish Constabulary was Ireland's major police force for most of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. A separate civic police force, the unarmed Dublin Metropolitan Police controlled the capital, and the cities of Derry and Belfast, originally with their own police...
with martial law enforced by the British Army. In this context, joining the British Army was no longer joining an army to fight wars overseas but joining an organisation that was actually fighting a war in Ireland. A cultural understanding of joining the British Army as a kind of collaboration with an oppressive Empire then developed. This opposition to military recruitment was more motivated by nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
than pacifism or opposition to militarism per se and often coincided with support for Irish para-military organisations such as the Irish Volunteers
Irish Volunteers
The Irish Volunteers was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists. It was ostensibly formed in response to the formation of the Ulster Volunteers in 1912, and its declared primary aim was "to secure and maintain the rights and liberties common to the whole people of Ireland"...
and Irish Republican Brotherhood
Irish Republican Brotherhood
The Irish Republican Brotherhood was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland during the second half of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century...
. After the Irish War of Independence the British Army no longer operated in the Southern Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
and Irish people continued to join the British Army for economic reasons as they had done when Ireland was still part of the British Empire though now they had to first travel to England in order to do so. The continued presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland meant, especially during the height of "the troubles" between the 1970s and 1990s, meant that military recruitment to the British Army was still a highly political issue. Depending on your point of view, there was either widespread popular resistance to the British Military in Northern Ireland or the Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
violently enforced non-cooperation with all aspects of the British government in the nationalist communities they controlled.
There has been little or no opposition in Ireland to recruitment for the official Irish army known as the Irish Defence Forces
Irish Defence Forces
The armed forces of Ireland, known as the Defence Forces encompass the Army, Naval Service, Air Corps and Reserve Defence Force.The current Supreme Commander of the Irish Defence forces is His Excellency Michael D Higgins in his role as President of Ireland...
which are often described primarily as peacekeepers
Peacekeeping
Peacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....
despite their participation in dubious UN interventions in recently liberated former colonies such as the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)
Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)
The Republic of the Congo was an independent republic established following the independence granted to the former colony of the Belgian Congo in 1960...
in the 1960s.
Counter-recruitment in Canada
In response to the Canadian ForcesCanadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
' role as a member of the International Security Assistance Force
International Security Assistance Force
The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
in Afghanistan, an anti-war movement developed in Canada which has tried to utilize counter-recruitment as a part of its efforts. In particular, Operation Objection emerged as the umbrella counter-recruitment campaign in Canada. Operation Objection claimed to have active counter-recruitment operations in 8 to 10 Canadian cities. However, coordinated attempts at counter-recruitment activism in Canada have been fairly limited as of late, and for the most part, unsuccessful.
In the 2005-06 academic year at York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
, the York Federation of Students
York Federation of Students
York Federation of Students represents over 45,000 students at York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The York Federation of Students is a member of the Canadian Federation of Students .-History:...
, a federation representing ten of the university's student unions, clashed with a Canadian Forces recruiter forcibly removing the recruiter and the kiosk from the Student Center. York University maintains that the Canadian Forces have the same right to recruit as any other employer participating in career fairs on campus.
On October 25, 2007, an attempt by the student union at the University of Victoria
University of Victoria
The University of Victoria, often referred to as UVic, is the second oldest public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It is a research intensive university located in Saanich and Oak Bay, about northeast of downtown Victoria. The University's annual enrollment is about 20,000 students...
to ban Canadian Forces from participating in career fairs on campus failed when the student body voted overwhelmingly in favor of allowing the Canadian military to participate in recruitment and career development activities available to students. Approximately 500 students, five times the usual attendance, appeared at the Annual General Meeting of the University of Victoria Students' Society
University of Victoria Students' Society
The University of Victoria Students' Society , founded in 1963, is a student society that represents all undergraduate students at the University of Victoria...
(UVSS), and voted to defeat the motion proposed to stop the Canadian Forces from appearing on campus at career development events, with an estimated 25 votes in favor of the ban. Those voting against the ban argued that the ban was a restriction on freedom of choice and an infringement of students' free speech, that it went beyond the mandate of student government, and that student union executives should not be advocating policy that does not reflect the views of the fee-paying student body.
In November 2007, the Minister of Education for Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
, Gerard Greenan
Gerard Greenan
Gerard Greenan is a Canadian politician. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island in the 2007 provincial election. He represents the electoral district of Summerside-St. Eleanors and is a member of the Liberal Party. On June 12, 2007, he was sworn in as Attorney General...
, was requested by the Council of Canadians to ban military recruitment on PEI campuses. The Minister responded that military service "is a career and... we think its right to let the Armed Forces have a chance to present this option to students."