Under the guise of opportunities young people are being pushed into the military. Bush’s “No Child Left Behind Act” requires US high schools to give students’ home addresses and phone numbers to the military, or lose their government funding. Most students and parents are not told they have the right to “Opt Out” – tell the school to with-hold their private details.

Congress says we're worth $100,000 if we die in combat. What are we worth alive?

Young people in low-income families, especially Black, Latinas/os and other communities of color, are disproportionately targeted. They are told that they only have to sign up for eight years; that they’ll get money for college, training, US residence or nationality. In fact, there is rarely money for college, and the training is useless outside the military. And getting out is tough – many are forced back to Iraq. 

Did you know that

The military promises $30,000 to each person who signs up. State schools spend $7,000 per student.

The US has the world’s largest prison population. One in four Black youth are in prison or under the courts. Five times more $ is spent on keeping people in prison than on their education.

50% of women soldiers in Iraq reported rape by fellow soldiers; 80% reported sexual harassment. A key Abu Ghraib torturer had been a US prison guard. 

$160+ million per day is spent on war in Iraq. But there is no money for schools, welfare, healthcare, social security, pay equity…

After Hurricane Katrina, the military recruited in Red Cross relief centers, taking advantage of families that had been split up.

Parents, grandparents, students, teachers, veterans, military refusers, supporters have formed an anti-racist self-help Opt Out campaign. In Philadelphia and Oakland we’ve leafleted schools, spoken at  meetings, anti-war and anti-globalization events, Black churches – all are keen to get the word out.

The dramatic drop in army enlistment shows there is huge opposition to US wars and militarization, especially in communities of color. Opt Out campaigns are happening across the US. A group of students in Montclair, NJ – most of them girls – organized for their school to distribute information, and 85% opted out. Some cities have barred military recruiters from high schools.