National Context [JROTC]
Luis
Congress surely meant to do the right thing when, in the fall of 2008, it passed the Child Soldiers Prevention Act(CSPA). The law was designed to protect kids worldwide from being forced to fight the wars of Big Men (adult’s wars). From then on, any country that forced children into becoming soldiers was supposed to lose all U.S. military aid (America’s Child soldiers, by: Ann Jones and Tomdispatch, 2003). There is a youth programs in the U.S. that is called JROTC (Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps) and in the United States it might be considered the biggest, most efficiently organized, most effective system for recruiting child soldiers in the world. With uncharacteristic modesty, however, the Pentagon doesn’t call it that; the term the government uses is “youth development program.” What makes this child-soldier recruiting program so striking is that the Pentagon carries the program out in plain sight in hundreds and hundreds of private, military, and public high schools across the U.S. For example, I have seen the program in action, because one of the high schools that is close to my home is Farragut High school and this particular school has that program. In this program, however, the majority students are African Americans and Hispanics, the children of immigrants from Vietnam, Mexico, and North Africa. The program is more focused on the less “fortunate” kids that are most likely not succeed, advance in the future academically, financially, and even socially. The program manipulates the children/adolescents into becoming more disciplined, corrects them by becoming a better use for society, become stronger not just physically, but also emotionally to overcome obstacles that can affect their decision or mindset of joining the army. The U.S. Army JROTC program was conceived as part of the National Defense Act of 1916 in the midst of World War I, meaning that this program was not only a current system of the U.S but, a particular recruitment needed for the next generation of soldiers, child soldiers. In JROTC’S own defense, the program publicizes a selling point widely accepted across the United States: that it provides “structure,” keeps kids from dropping out of school, and turns boys (and now girls) of “troubled” backgrounds into “men” who, without JROTC to save them (and the rest of us from them), would become junkies or criminals or worse.
However, in reality, this a scheme and manipulates children or teenagers with fantasies of becoming mature, stronger, leaders, disciplined, and basically becoming soldiers. The great majority of students find better, more life-affirming “structure” in school. For example, academic courses such as: sports, choirs, bands, science or language clubs, internships in schools where such opportunities exist, not some JROTC program that tries to copy what most school programs already have. JROTC only prepares you for the army, then leads you off to the march of war at such a young age. What kind of school system gives boys and girls such “choices”? What kind of country? What goes on in schools in your town? Isn’t it time you found out? (Child soldiers Prevention Act CSP). The program only exists in the U.S and not in any other place in the world, because this program was made in the U.S to target children/adolescents in the U.S, and use them for war later in the future. Activists are countering the JROTC program, for example, Social Justice high school does not allow army recruiters or a JROTC to establish in their school because of those many reasons/purposes that JROTC contains for adolescents/children in the U.S.
However, in reality, this a scheme and manipulates children or teenagers with fantasies of becoming mature, stronger, leaders, disciplined, and basically becoming soldiers. The great majority of students find better, more life-affirming “structure” in school. For example, academic courses such as: sports, choirs, bands, science or language clubs, internships in schools where such opportunities exist, not some JROTC program that tries to copy what most school programs already have. JROTC only prepares you for the army, then leads you off to the march of war at such a young age. What kind of school system gives boys and girls such “choices”? What kind of country? What goes on in schools in your town? Isn’t it time you found out? (Child soldiers Prevention Act CSP). The program only exists in the U.S and not in any other place in the world, because this program was made in the U.S to target children/adolescents in the U.S, and use them for war later in the future. Activists are countering the JROTC program, for example, Social Justice high school does not allow army recruiters or a JROTC to establish in their school because of those many reasons/purposes that JROTC contains for adolescents/children in the U.S.
Denise
Child soldiers are connected to the United States because some young people under the age of 18 are also being exposed to be trained to join military groups after they graduate high school. A program called Junior Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) is a federal program that is being sponsored the United States Army and is being established in many high schools across the nation. “This program trains high scholars to gain leadership roles, patriotism, citizen responsibilities” (U.S. Department of Defense, "Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC)"). This program presents itself to all the cities of the United States such as Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, and act. Even though this program is established nationwide it also brings a lot of controversy and debate. Just like theirs groups that say that this is a good program for teens to gain leadership and responsibilities others say that this is a recruit program that is much like boot camp that brings negative effects the program also brainwashes teens. Places like Lowell (Massachusetts), San Francisco, and Los Angeles have been working on abolishing such program in order to protect children from recruiters.
There are also campaigns and activists like CAMS (Coalition against Militarism in Our Schools) that are teachers that believe that students are “students not soldiers” (Hanscom, "FrontPage Magazine - The War against JROTC", 2007). JROTC students are recruited similar like child soldiers from other countries because recruiters brainwashes these teens/children by making them believe that by joining armed forces is a duty of theirs and that by joining it will help them have a more successful career.
There are also campaigns and activists like CAMS (Coalition against Militarism in Our Schools) that are teachers that believe that students are “students not soldiers” (Hanscom, "FrontPage Magazine - The War against JROTC", 2007). JROTC students are recruited similar like child soldiers from other countries because recruiters brainwashes these teens/children by making them believe that by joining armed forces is a duty of theirs and that by joining it will help them have a more successful career.