Before or After Joining the U.S. Military - compiled by the heads-up collective - 1st Edition - Zine -  (Archived)

The zine's purpose is to both counter-recruit and support soldiers who resist. Many student anti-war groups have instinctively gravitated toward these tactics, but I thought it might be helpful to summarize them here:

Counter-Recruitment: Counter-recruitment means not only talking people out of the joining the military but also making life hard for military recruiters themselves. Actions have included demonstrations, student walkouts, handing out information in front of recruiting centers, opt-out parties (for high school students to keep the military from getting their personal information), and giving classroom presentations.

PDF Format, 9 pages, includes links to webinars. August 2015 - Webinar in 3 Parts (Aug. 26, 28 31): Establishing Policies to Restrict Military Recruiting in K-12 Schools

The Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, or JROTC, is a federal program sponsored by the US Armed Forces in high schools and some middle schools across the nation and at US military bases globally. It currently teaches its lessons to more than half a million students in approximately 3,400 high schools nationwide.

In recent years, the military and its supporters have been promoting the idea of a significant increase in the number of high schools with JROTC—one proposal calls for expanding up to 6,000. Because of this, one nonprofit decided it was time to examine the textbooks used in JROTC classes to see what they are teaching.

The Project on Youth and Non-Military Opportunities, or Project YANO, is a counter-recruitment organization founded in 1984 and based in San Diego country. It released its findings in early July. Their reviewers have backgrounds in classroom teaching or education activists, or special knowledge of subjects JROTC claims to address, such as civil rights, violence prevention, leadership methods, and world history. Team members included current and retired high school teachers, military veterans, and a documentary film producer.

Guest – Rick Jahnkow, a co-founder and board member of Project YANO. Rick worked for 34 years as the organization’s full-time program coordinator. He has researched and organized around the issues of military recruiting, high school Jr. ROTC, and the general militarization of K-12 schools.

bit.ly/youngwomenshouldknow

A Brochure for Young Women Thinking About Joining the Military | 2022

"When I joined, I knew that women in the military faced an uphill battle, but I didn't fully understand how serious the issues were and how reluctant leadership is to doing anything about it.

The truth is that there's a culture of harassment and assault that is incredibly harmful to all troops, but especially to gender minorities."
Brittany Ramos DeBarros

• Research and Writing by Before Enlisting
• Production and graphic design by:
  The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth
• Printed copies can be ordered at:
  War Resisters League - https://www.warresisters.org/store/
• PDF Available for Downloading at Link on this page

Version: June 27, 2022