Neither College Nor The Military? Career Counseling for Alternative Pathways After High School Janine Schwab Peace and Conflict Resolution Goal Leadership Unit American Friends Service Committee

IT’S MY LIFE: A GUIDE TO ALTERNATIVES AFTER HIGH SCHOOL Do you counsel young people who lack direction and resources? Do you counsel young people who are idealistic and have ideas about how the world should be but lack an outlet? Do you counsel young people who are under pressure to either go to college or join the military and want to do neither?

Service Does Not Have to Mean Military Service Young people often need extra help with finding civilian careers that provide a sense of purpose.

IT’S MY LIFE Has Suggestions For.. Finding adventure Transitioning to adulthood Saving money for college Skills training Finding a career or even just a job Service opportunities

Common Reasons For Joining the Military Patriotism and sense of duty Interest in military careers and warfare Financial obligations Sense that the military will “take care of me” Educational benefits Health care, housing and meals Skills Training Discipline Promises of citizenship

Problems With Uninformed Enlistment Young people overestimate what the military will do for them – the military will get them in shape, go to college for them, and find them a job when they get out! The government leverages their slender benefits package as a recruiting tool, while actually guaranteeing very little and underfunding crucial agencies like the VA that administer the benefits.

Making the decision to join the military should be done with careful thought, not just because of personal crisis.

Risks of Serving in the Military Short term Delaying college Injury Death Sexual assault Loss of control Long term Disability Mental health issues and PTSD Dishonorable discharge Transfer of skills is not guaranteed

Lack of information Recruiters are under intense pressure to “make the sale” and they leave things out Young people often join under pressure in the “heat of the moment” Lack of civilian participation in military life Lack of resources at schools to monitor enlistment situations Barriers to Making a Fully Informed Choice About Enlistment

We’ll think about your future for you!

Barriers to Finding Alternatives Leadership and job programs for young people are underfunded, especially when compared with the budget for recruiting (20.5 Billion in 2009) Lack of experience in the world of work School’s natural focus on academic achievement and college readiness Lack of health care, housing, strong family structure Personal crisis Low income

IT’S MY LIFE! helps students to step back, ignore the pressure and think about what they really want in life.

What do Recruiters Leave Out? Students are routinely told that they will not be deployed 12-20% of Iraq vets suffer serious psychological problems related to service Women are told they will not see combat Enlistees are not advised of the high sexual assault rates in the military including “combat rape” and Military Sexual Trauma 23% of all women veterans report sexual assault while serving

Resources Exist to Help Recruiter Abuse Hotline GI Rights Hotline US Military Guide (for Wisconsin) Before You Enlist video It’s My Life book “Do You Know Enough to Enlist” brochure Questions for Military Recruiters

What Else? Service members are not permitted to sue the military, no matter how egregious the offense Reserve soldiers can expect to be deployed Multiple tours of duty are likely We are currently at war College ROTC programs allow young people to train as an officer at a higher pay grade while completing college on time

What else? College graduates may be eligible for loan repayment if they enlist and may be able to go into Officer Candidate School Separation from the DEP is easy and there are no consequences unless the person tries to enlist in the same service later The VA system is underfunded and any benefits like health care or college money may be hard to come by Money for college is not guaranteed and not automatic and can be denied

If a young person is getting heavily recruited, sometimes a reality check is in order.

How Can Career Counselors Help? Remind young people of the true purpose of the military – it is not a jobs program! Learn as much about the enlistment process as possible. Help the student and parents review the promises the recruiter is making

Ask questions - lots of them Make sure enlistees understand not to lie on the enlistment form Understand military DEP regulations Make sure students know about other options to learn skills and fulfill their financial obligations. Don’t try to change their mind, but be an effective advocate and listener. Help students who are being bothered by recruiting calls and visits. Recruiters can be very invasive! Know who to call for help What Else Can Counselors Do?

Regulating Recruitment Make the ASVAB voluntary Limit recruiter visits to the counseling office End classroom presentations – schools are for learning Limit recruiters from “roaming the halls” Provide opt out forms to parents and students, preferably on the emergency card Don’t allow recruiters to pull students from class Check in to see if students are being harassed Invite groups to come and present alternative options

Why Doesn’t Recruiting Work? Fundamentally, military recruitment is a sales job. Career counseling is NOT the primary function of a recruiter. Recruiting targets are often set too high and are based on demand and not supply. Pressure to increase enlistment can have recruiters working hours a day, 6-7 days a week without break. A recruiter has little control over the ultimate fate of the persons he or she enlists. If something goes wrong, the enlistee is already stuck.

More… Recruiters are often young and inexperienced soldiers who have been involuntarily reassigned to recruiting duty. The pressure to succeed can make a recruiter more receptive to using fraudulent means to enlist. We regulate college sports recruitment better than we regulate military recruitment even though the stakes are much higher! Educators and parents often have no direct knowledge of the military.

And…once in the military, it’s extremely difficult to get out! You belong to the Army now, son!!!

Through games like America’s Army, movies, music and mobile recruiting trucks and Hummers the military “sells” a glamorized idea about the military, but the reality is anything but glamorous.

What Else Should School Counselors Be Concerned About? JROTC (Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps) ASVAB/CEP JAMRS and NCLB Recruiter Provision Understanding the GI Bill Benefits Understanding contract and the DEP/FSTP

JROTC Junior ROTC students may be under particular pressure to join the military JROTC students should be made aware of the college ROTC route, but that does not always happen In some schools JROTC is involuntary and takes space on the roster from college prep courses

ASVAB/CEP ASVAB is the military entrance exam In some schools, ASVAB is mandatory Students do not always know that their scores will be forwarded to the military The ASVAB student testing program exists solely to provide “prequalified leads” to military recruiters

USMEPCOM Regulation 601-4, November 13, 2006 Personnel Procurement Student Testing Program Table 3-1 Recruiter Release Options Option Instructions for providing access to student test information to recruiting services Provide student test information to recruiting services: 1 no sooner than 7 days after mailed to school 2 no sooner than 60 days after mailed to school 3 no sooner than 90 days after mailed to school 4 no sooner than 120 days after mailed to school 5 no sooner than the end of the SY for that specific school or 30 June 6 no sooner than 7 days after mailed to school with instruction that no telephone solicitation by recruiters will be conducted as a result of test information provided 7 Invalid test results. Student test information is not provided to recruiting services 8 Access to student test information is not provided to recruiting services

Other Student Privacy Concerns Schools have been mandated by the NCLB Recruiter Access Provision to allow recruiters the same access to students as college and work recruiters and also provide the name address and telephone numbers of students upon requests. JAMRS is a database contracted by the government to provide contact information about young people for recruiting purposes. There is an Opt Out provision in NCLB to opt out of school lists BUT that will not opt a student out of JAMRS lists.

Navigating GI Bill Benefits The GI Bill is changing and right now it’s not totally clear exactly how the new Post 9/11 GI Bill could benefit your students The new bill has clear advantages over the old with some exceptions like no provision for vocational or technical training There is no way to know before a person’s term of service ends how much money will be available and whether they will qualify In the meantime, they have delayed college, costs are higher and they may be in a different life circumstance that makes college impossible.

The Enlistment Contract/DEP The enlistment contract is binding on the student, not the military If an enlistee changes his or her mind while still in the DEP/FSTP, military policy is to separate them Get it in writing if it’s been promised! Joining the military removes civilian privileges and rights The term of enlistment is ALWAYS 8 years for a first- time enlistee Service can be extended and reactivated in time of war