Leave My Grandkids Alone!

by Alan S. Miller

Marin County, California
July 6, 2005

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My grandson Aaron is now ten years old. And unless I completely misread the news reports from the Pentagon and the White House, it is clear that he will soon be on the military’s prospective recruiting list.

Now I fully understand that ten year olds are not quite ripe enough for the military recruiters ....

Unbeknownst to most of us, the President’s "No Child Left Behind" program (presumably intended to improve educational standards at American schools) also requires the mandatory provision by the school of personal information on each student to the U.S. military.

The Pentagon recently announced that it has now compiled a data base with personnel files on thirty million young Americans between 16-25 in order "...to help military recruiters target candidates for specific missions."

This information, gathered from a variety of sources, includes names, social security numbers, ethnic data, grades, home addresses and telephone numbers. It is exactly the material the armed services covet.

Now I fully understand that ten year olds are not quite ripe enough for the military recruiters. I also understand that the war planners are becoming desperate for new enlistees.

With decreasing enrollments in the all-volunteer military, and ever increasing personnel requirements, high school students are now more than ever before in the cross hairs of the sights of the recruiters.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has acknowledged that we may be in Iraq for many more years. "Insurgencies," he says, "tend to go on for 5, 8, 10 and 12 years."

President Bush says that "we are not leaving until the job has been done." Army General William S. Wallace has acknowledged that the war will "last much longer than the planners had assumed."

Equally frightening are predictions by the Department of Defense that by late 2006, the military will have reached a manpower crisis. Demand will be up and supply will be even further down. If there are not then enough volunteers to sustain U.S. service requirements, the Selective Service System is also geared up and ready to go.

The data from the "No Child Left Behind" records will be enormously useful to the recruiters whichever scenario—enticement of high school students or a draft—plays itself out. Unfortunately, any school (as well as the district in which the school is located) that refuses to provide the necessary information on its students may be cut off from further federal funding. Happily, there are provisions in the "No Child Left Behind" program that allow for students and their families to "opt out" of the requirement that personal information be automatically given to the military.

"Opt Out" parties sponsored by "Leave My Child Alone" are now being held all around the country to inform students and their families how to get off the recruiters’ list. The first step in the process is to contact the local school district and request the appropriate "opt out" form related to the "No child Left Behind" requirement.

To further define the issue, Congressman Mike Honda of California’s 15th Congressional District (including much of Silicon Valley) has now submitted to Congress the Student Privacy Protection Act (HR 551) of 2005.

The Bill would amend the Federal Elementary and Secondary Act and direct local educational agencies to release student information to military recruiters "only" if the student’s parent provides written consent. It is a more fair and transparent "opt in" not an "opt out" provision. If passed, it can provide social space for a young person to seriously consider the pros and cons of military service.

I have no objection to any one serving in the American military if that is their informed choice. I’m a veteran and I believe that we all have a responsibility to serve our nation when the cause for our service is just and appropriate.

The war in Iraq, however, seems to me to be a bad and unjust war. It is time for students and their families to consider whether or not they should "opt out" of allowing all their personal information to be shared with the armed forces.

Be assured. The military will use the data if they can. My grandkids are too young right now to be on anybody’s recruitment list. But the signs are that we’ll be in Iraq for several more years. We will probably be extensively involved in militarily activity in other countries as well.

The signs are clear. In a few years, Aaron will be on the recruiter’s list unless he chooses to opt out. I hope that he and his parents will take the steps to make sure that the wrong people do not come knocking on their door.

Copyright © 2005 Alan S. Miller
Last updated: November 25, 2005