Before You Enlist Video - http://beforeyouenlist.org
Researching Pop Culture and Militarism - https://nnomy.org/popcultureandmilitarism/
If you have been Harassed by a Military Recruiter - https://www.afsc.org/resource/military-recruiter-abuse-hotline
War: Turning now to Mr. Ralph Waldo Emerson - Christian Science Monitor
WHAT IS IN THIS KIT? - https://nnomy.org/backtoschoolkit/
Click through to find out
Religion and militarism - https://nnomy.org/religionandmilitarism/
‘A Poison in the System’: Military Sexual Assault - New York Times
Change your Mind?
Talk to a Counselor at the GI Rights Hotline
Ask that your child's information is denied to Military Recruiters
And monitor that this request is honored.
Military Recruiters and Programs Target marginalized communities for recruits...
..and the high schools in those same communities

 Militarization of our Schools

The Pentagon is taking over our poorer public schools. This is the reality for disadvantaged youth.

 

What we can do

Corporate/conservative alliances threaten Democracy . Progressives have an important role to play.

 Why does NNOMY matter?

Most are blind or indifferent to the problem.
A few strive to protect our democracy.

JAMRS

Joint Advertising Market Research Studies (JAMRS)

 

 

WHAT IS IT?

 

The Joint Advertising Market Research Studies (JAMRS) is a series of projects that seek to collect and buy information about the American public with the intent of formulating marketing and advertising strategies to aid in the military recruitment effort. It is in the service of the Department of Defense, as well as other government bodies, to a lesser extent.

The database created from this information contains data on about 30 million of young Americans 16-25 years old1. This includes “name, date of birth, gender, mailing address, e-mail address, race and ethnicity, telephone number, high school name, graduation date, Grade Point Average, college intent, military interest, field of study, and the ASVAB Test score.”2 Until 2006, it also collected Social Security Numbers. The New York Civil Liberties Union filed and subsequently won a lawsuit to prevent this from continuing to happen, and to reduce the time limit the data would remain in the system from five years to the current amount: three years.3

Aside from sending out polls to young people and “influencers” (meaning adults that are connected and can influence youth from 12 to 21 years old), JAMRS buys information from the DMV, College Board, the ASVAB test, and the Selective Service system, and others.4

 

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

 

Framed within the larger debate on online privacy, JAMRS and its data collection is an affront to young people’s privacy rights; this detailed information is gathered almost exclusively without their or their parent’s knowledge and consent, and the mechanisms for opting out are not clearly communicated to them.

This data is then used to shape recruitment strategies for the military, targeting young people of certain races or ethnicities. This is reflected by the overrepresentation of black and latinxs in the military compared to US society as a whole.5 People of certain socio-economic backgrounds are also targeted, as is evidenced by the different benefits the armed forces place front and center of their reasons to enlist: scholarships for college, job training, and eventual VA benefits.

The marketing, advertising, and recruitment strategies can often paint a misleading picture of what being in the US Armed Forces is like, glossing over the physical, psychological, and emotional dangers that enlisted members are subject to.

 

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

 

  • If you’re 18 years old, you can opt out by filling this form (courtesy of the New York Civil Liberties Union) and send it out to the following address (the JAMRS headquarters), your information will be inaccessible to recruiters and remain sealed in the suppression file. If you’re younger than 18, ask your parents to fill out the form and send it to the following address.

Joint Advertising Market Research & Studies (JAMRS)
4800 Mark Center Drive, Suite 06J25
Alexandria, VA 22350-4000

  • If you are a parent, guardian, or know a person between 16 to 21 years of age, you can give them the opt-out form. If they have expressed an interest in joining the military, you can also direct them to the Winning the Peace website, which contains information about the military often missing from recruitment material.
  • Spread the word! Tell other people in your school, other parents and guardians or write to your local or school paper. Most people are unaware of the information that JAMRS has collected on them, and deserve to at least make a choice on whether or not that is something they want the US military to have.
  • Hand out opt out forms, or ask school authorities (teachers, the principal, counselors) to hand them out.

 

Sources

 

1 https://www.nyclu.org/en/information-about-jamrs-database
2 https://www.nyclu.org/en/joint-advertising-market-research-studies-jamrs
3 Idem
4 Idem
5 https://www.cfr.org/article/demographics-us-military

References

 

 

Articles

 

##

Revised 03/23/2023

JAMRS - Archive 02/2020

JAMRSJAMRS is the Pentagon's secret super database which contains personal information on approximately 30 million young people between the ages of 16–25. JAMRS stands for Joint Advertising Market Research & Studies. This database, which has probably cost over $1 billion to assemble, buys lists of high school and college students from schools, Departments of Motor Vehicles, and marketers. Started in 2002, the database includes names, birth dates, ASVAB test data, email addresses, grade-point averages, ethnicity, and the subjects that students are studying.

JAMRS continues to buy information about young people as well as to target "gate-keepers" like teachers, athletic coaches and other adults deemed to have influence over young people. JAMRS routinely collects information on those who have opted out of school-based recruiting under the No Child Left Behind Act.

Peace groups and privacy advocates have challenged JAMRS and have won some limited victories. In 2006,, the NYCLU obtained the Pentagon's agreement to accept a standard form to suspend the use of any information pertaining to you, but not to delete your name.

You can find frequently asked question about JAMRS in the NYCLU Website.

 

Here are some recommended links available to better inform you as a parent. This is a work in progress and NNOMY will be adding new documents as they are prepared and as policies change that effect enlistment. Check back periodically.

Recommended Pages:

Downloads:

JAMRS Opt Out Form | Doc (archived)

Articles on the web:

##

Revised 03/27/2018

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The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth (NNOMY) is supported by individual contributions and a grant by the Craigslist Charitable Fund - 2023 Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. NNOMY websites are hosted by The Electric Embers Coop.

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