With all the free publicity provided by the success of the film Zero Dark Thirty, you’d think that the Green Berets wouldn’t need their own vehicle in the MEC fleet. But as long as “night raids” continue to be a focus of American military activities abroad, this elite force will have to recruit for the future. Hence, the need for an Army Special Operations Adventure van, tricked out with simulators that allow visitors to experience a virtual counter-insurgency: firing a .50 cal. atop a “ground mobility vehicle” (Humvee), flying an AH6 “Little Bird” helicopter and -- of course -- piloting a drone.
The newest vehicle in the MEC, launched in 2012, is the Army STEM Experience, which purports to teach math and science skills in a military context. (According to a slide from a declassified Army PowerPoint presentation, this vehicle is also a good wedge for breaking into “hard-to-penetrate schools. ”) Through interactive video monitors and “virtual meetings” with military advisors, visitors are propelled into the year 2032 where they must use their skills in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, math) to respond to a terrorist attack. One possible solution: using a drone to defuse the crisis and save civilization. On the Facebook page of the STEM Army Experience (which is apparently the only vehicle in the MEC with a presence on social media), one can find pictures of elementary school-aged children cavorting with recruiters. Remember, kids: You’re never too young to rain death by remote control.
The American public, and especially children, are learning to accept the military use of drones. Army recruiting vans and drone simulators like the ones described above represent what communications scholar Roger Stahl calls militainment: “state violence translated into an object of pleasurable consumption.” While it may not be possible to totally reverse this militarizing trend, there are openings for activists. Stahl suggests that it is up to the responsible citizen to counter the “seductions of the entertaining war” by seeking out and exposing their internal contradictions.
How to resist? First, find out which schools in your area will be targeted by these vehicles (see below) and contact school officials requesting that they cancel the visit. Activists can also demand equal access and demonstrate on the date of a van’s visit.
This is a perfect opportunity for counter-recruiters to partner with anti-drone activists from organizations like Veterans for Peace, Code Pink, and Upstate Drone Action. Together we can step up and do something to prevent the Army from bringing its drones into schools.
Schedule of visits by the Army STEM Experience Recruiting Truck:
- July 30, Student Success Summit Charleston, WV
- July 30-Aug 1, ECS-Ohio SAT Westerville, OH
- Aug. 8-17, Missouri State Fair Sedalia, MO
- Aug. 13, CUNY-York College Orientation Jamaica, NY
- Aug. 21, University of North Alabama Florence, AL
- Aug. 23, University of Kentucky “Campus Ruckus” Lexington, KY
- Aug. 26-28, FIU: ROTC Adventure Days Boca Raton, FL
- Sept 2-5, Greenville High School Blitz Greenville, NC
- Sept. 6, Georgia Southern Military Appreciation Day Statesville, GA
- Sept. 8-11, Collier County STEM High School Blitz Naples, FL
- Sept. 8, Troy University Troy, AL
- Sept 12-28, Big E County Fair Springfield, MS
- Sept. 20, Georgia Southern University STEM Fest Statesboro, GA
- Sept. 23-25, New Orleans High School Blitz New Orleans, LA
- Sept. 27, Conference Football/Family Weekend Stephensville, TX
- Sept. 30 - Oct. 3, Monroe, Louisiana High School Blitz Monroe, LA
Information sources:
- Maggie Brown, “The Army Aviation Adventure Van Debuts Amid Rave Reviews,” Recruiter Journal (Jul 2002), p.10.,http://www.usarec.army.mil/hq/apa/journal.htm
- Roger Stahl, Militainment, Inc. (New York: Routledge, 2010), p. 145.
- Toby, Christopher, “Army Throws Itself a Birthday Bash at the Staten Island Mall,” Staten Island Advance (Jun 13, 2013), http://tinyurl.com/mpxuncg
- U.S. Army STEM Experience, Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/ArmySTEMExperience
- U.S. Army Accessions Support Brigade, Command Brief (Aug 2013) http://www.usarec.army.mil/asb/branding/ASB_Command_Brief.pdf
Source: NNOMY National Listserve
Seth Kershner is a reference and instruction librarian at Northwestern Connecticut Community College.