The Wichita school board took a prudent step Monday in making it easier for parents to keep their child’s contact information from being passed along to military recruiters. Instead of reflecting poorly on the troops, as some are suggesting, the new opt-out approach simply gives parents some semblance of control over their family’s privacy. That’s a precious thing these days. And chances are that those kids who want to serve in the military won’t let this modest change stand in their way.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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33 Comments
Three cheers for the school board on this one. They finally did something right.
Funny how the right always rails against “big government” . . . unless it is to help compel naive kids into serving in the military.
Good job to the school board to standing up to the Washington bullies.
The Washington bullies?
Give me a desensationalized break!
I dont think a recruiter has the right to call you at home and bug you.
However, I dont see the problem with letting a recruiter be the one to contact your children.
Are you people that scared that your kid might want to join the military that you wont let them be contacted?
Sheesh…
Cognosti,
Are you saying that our brave men and women serving in the armed forces right now are nothing more than naive kids tricked into joining?
I guess Patriotism went the way of the 8-track tape.
Once it was a proud thing to serve your country.
Nathan–You’re d… right I don’t want a recruiter to call my kids.When Jenna and Barbara Bush go through boot camp and end up on checkpoint patrol holding rifles in Iraq, then recruiters can call my kids . . .Until then, they’re not getting near them if I can help it.
When the cause is right and the quarrel just, America has had plenty of patriots to fight its battle. But when we invade and occupy to secure oil supplies, let the Republicans send their own first . . .
(Which you notice, they DON’T)
The people serving now wanted to serve. Perhaps some did get the idea from a recruiter call but I think most wanted to enter the military and would have found a recruiter themselves with or without a phone call.
Why not leave the decision to opt out to the students? Problem solved. High schoolers are smarter than we give them credit for.
I think if these students felt they were actually serving their country, they’d be more inclined to enlist. Like, defending us against terrorists. Maybe rooting out fundamentalist sympathizers in the Saudi government.
Cognosti,
It is not about sending your kids to war.
It is a voluntary military. No one is forced to join.
No ones kids are sent to war. 18 year old adults who volunteered are. Peoples children join the military and the military is sent to fight in wars.
Did you not instill your liberal values into your kids enough that you are sacred a recruiter might be able to show them what the military has to offer and they might join?
People make a lot of decisions that are not based on good judgement. I’ve done it many times in the past and I will probably do it in the future, and I’m assuming my kids are no different.
People often join cults voluntarily too out of emotional needs that they don’t even fully recognize.
So, no, I don’t want Mormons, I don’t want the KKK, I don’t want Jehovah’s Witness, I don’t want the Moonies, I don’t want the Scientologists approaching my kids.
And I don’t want recruiters going near them either. If my kids seek them out that’s fine, but not the other way around.
Sacred recruiter. Hee! Yes, I know it was just a typo.
It’s just a matter of privacy. I noticed you said in your first post that recruiter doesn’t have the right to call you at home, but that’s what they do!! Trust me on this one, I’ve only been out of high school for four years, and I remember it quite clearly. Maybe they weren’t so aggressive when you were a kid, but it’s disturbing how some of these guys act. From what my little cousin tells me (class of 2005, bless her heart), they’re still doing it.And they are coercive. Some of them are worse than the telemarketers we fought to stop harrassing us.
The point is, if a kid wanted to join, he doesn’t have to be sold on the idea. He shouldn’t be talked into it or pressured in any way, shape or form. Leave the decision up to them.
Oh yeah, and some of us are less resistant to hard-sell tactics than others. I have switched by long-distance service due to a very aggressive telemarketer, and I bought a $45 nail kit from a mall kiosk cause the lady was so pushy. Yes, I’m weak. I’ll bet a lot of people are like me, though. And people like us could very well be coerced into a committment we don’t really want, or haven’t really thought about. And that’s wrong!
It is a sales job though. That is why they are called recruiters.
They go out and recruit people to join.
The simple fact is that there are many kids who leave High School go work at some McDonalds type job or whatever your pick and untill are recruiter finds them and tells them about all the military has to offer they would never have joined.
That is what recruiters do. They go out and actively seek out people to join the military.
It is not about tricking anyone.(although it does happen, not all recruiters are honest)
If all the military did was wait around for someone to walk in and say: “I want to join” war or no war in Iraq we wouldnt meet our qoutas…
It is about advertising. Kids dont wake up one morning with a complete understanding of what the military has to offer.
I mean, sure, make the information known. Approach kids who have little other opportunity, the “mcdonald’s workers”, if you will. Knowledge is power. But the idea of quotas reminds me of working on commission, which reminds me of hard-selling (telling the prospect what he wants to hear rather than the truth), which disturbs me slightly. Talking people into making such a committment and laying their life on the line without thinking it through…Incidentally, is there a way to report a dishonest recruiter and get him fired?
Perhaps a mandatory waiting period between talking to a recruiter and actually signing papers. That would be fair, right? The kid has all the information and gets to sleep on it to make sure it’s what he wants. Along with my original idea of having the students make the decision to opt out.
Yikes. I just re-read that last paragraph. Let’s not turn this into any abortion-related discussion.
Yes, if you find a dishonest recruiter you can contact his command.
The command recruiting post for the Wichita area is the MEPS center in Oklahoma City.
There is no need for a waiting period. Before you can join you have to go through tests and medical exams before you can sign the paperwork.
It is not like they have the contract ready to go as soon as you say yes.
Excellent. Good to know.
Hey Nathan,One question- From your other posts, I gather you believe literature begins and ends with the bible (fine by me), and you are a marine who has requested duty in Iraq. You aren’t by any chance going there with the intention of starting your own little crusade to kick Mohammed’s butt?If that’s the case, I wish you’d reconsider- that’s the last thing we need!
Jed,
I see you have fun talking with yourself, keep at it!
Hey Nathan,I see you answered my question by refusing to answer it. But what the hey! You’re gonna get raptured, and any mess you create will be somebody else’s problem, right?
Here it is:
http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/3289/
Like I said Jed,
You set up your questions and then answer them yourself.
Have fun arguing without me…
Let me know if you have a question you would like me to answer.
OK, Nathan,Given your strong religious views, and your stated intent to go to a country with a differing religious tradition, what are your intentions?
My intent was not to go to any particular country with differing religious tradition.
My intent is to serve my country and fellow Marines in the capacity they have trained me to do.
It just so happens that not every Marine is required nor is there a need for Marines in my particular MOS.
Hmmm….I wonder what Nathan’s MOS is, considering every Marine is trained as a basic rifleman.
I wonder if Nathan isn’t a reservist. About 6 months of training, and then attend the occasional meeting.
Dagett,
What does it matter if I am a reservist or not?
Are you implying that a reservist is less of a Marine?
Nathan, did I say that a reservist is less of a Marine?Did I hit a nerve here?Goodness, are we a little touchy this morning?Are you a reservist?
No nerve, just questions.
Why is it that questions seem to upset you liberals so much?
Questions don’t upset, it’s the lack of answers from conservatives.
Speaking of questions…Nathan, besides the Marine Corps Recruiter’s office, how many active Marine posts are there in the local area, say within 50 miles of Wichita?
CF and JR,
If you guys are out there, I need some help. I’m trying to find a list of Active Duty Marine posts in Kansas. Of course, I’ve tried google, but I guess I haven’t found the proper combination of keywords. I even tried “Ask Jeeves”. The only thing I can find is the post in Kansas City, and it may be a reserve unit.
It isn’t that hard to figure out. Why do you want to know?
It piqued my curiosity. And you’re right; it’s not that hard to figure out.
My inaugural address at the Great White Throne Judgment of the Dead, after I have raptured out billions!
At: http://www.angelfire.com/crazy/spaceman/
Your jaw will drop!
eschatology,End Times,second coming,rapture,secret rapture,Second Resurrection,Great White Throne Judgment of the Dead,End of Days,Day of the Lord,Endtime,Judgment Day
There are a few post in Kansas City, there is Mobilization Command, DFAS in Bannister, 9th Marine Corps district, and 24th Marines, all have active duty Marines working there.