Alternatives to the Military
Alternatives to the Military Guides
The Pentagon spends billions of dollars every year targeting low-income youth and youth of color for enlistment in the military. The poverty draft ensures that those with less resources and less opportunity are disproportionately represented in the military. LGBTQI youth may find that their needs are not served at all outside of the military and certainly not inside it. Finding nonmilitary sources of jobs, health care, housing and other basic necessities can be a challenge. The following resources and web sites may be helpful for youth seeking alternatives.
In honor of Martin Luther King's legacy of service and anti-militarism work, on January 21, 2008 we launched a new national guide to alternative careers for youth and many of AFSC's regional offices offer alternatives guides, too (full listing below)!
Alternatives to the Military Guides
"It's My Life" (national guide to be used anywhere in the U.S.) details alternative options to military service that still satisfy a taste for adventure and commitment to high ideals. Specific ideas for travel, adventure jobs, youth exchange, skills training, career training and paying for college are explored in this 92-page book available for $9.95.
Please
download the order form (PDF, 32
KB) for purchase by mail.
You may also place
an order by emailing youthmil@afsc.org or
calling 215-241-7176. Bulk pricing is
available.
NOTE: Some of the programs listed in this books have changed slightly or are no longer available due to the economic downturn. Please click here for a list of changes that can be printed and distributed with the book (2 flyers to an 8.5 x11 page in PDF Format).
To
view an electronic version of It's My Life with
the 2009 updates included in the text, click here.
The following guides (listed by state) are available for download or from the offices that produced them.
Local guides:
California
| Example of version available for free download (PDF). |
It's My Life California - Additions to the It's My life Guide with Bay Area local opportunities. Free Download. (PDF)
For more information or a printed copy contact the San Francisco office at (415) 565-0201.
Great Careers - Alternatives to the Military Booklet (2nd Edition). Created by AFSC's Los Angeles office. Twenty pages filled with many local and national career opportunities: peaceful jobs and careers that offer what the military promises—without giving up your rights and supporting the war machine. The booklet also includes career planning, personal growth, youth leadership and independent living. It will be updated constantly.
Produced through a collaboration of AFSC Los Angeles with CAMS, Coalition Against Militarism In Our Schools.
For more information, contact the AFSC Los Angeles office at
(213) 489-1900 x122Free download (PDF, 359 KB).
Higher Education Information - Available from AFSC's Los Angeles office. For those thinking about college, a flyer with lots of information.
Free download (PDF, 56 KB).
Florida
Created by AFSC's Great Lakes Regional Office. Twenty-nine pages filled with many local and national career opportunities: peaceful jobs and careers that offer what the military promises—without giving up your rights and supporting the war machine. The booklet also includes career planning, personal growth, youth leadership and independent living. It will be updated constantly.
For more information, contact the AFSC
Chicago office at
312-427-2533.
Free download (PDF, 3.24 MB).
Illinois
Created by AFSC's Great Lakes Regional Office. Thirty-eight pages filled with many local and national career opportunities: peaceful jobs and careers that offer what the military promises—without giving up your rights and supporting the war machine. The booklet also includes career planning, personal growth, youth leadership and independent living. It will be updated constantly.
For more information, contact the AFSC
Chicago office at
312-427-2533.
Free download (PDF, 2163 KB).
Indiana
Created by AFSC's Great Lakes Regional Office. Thirty-three pages filled with many local and national career opportunities: peaceful jobs and careers that offer what the military promises—without giving up your rights and supporting the war machine. The booklet also includes career planning, personal growth, youth leadership and independent living. It will be updated constantly.
For more information, contact the AFSC
Chicago office at
312-427-2533.
Free download (PDF, 1988 KB).
Kentucky
Created by AFSC's Great Lakes Regional Office. Twenty-nine pages filled with many local and national career opportunities: peaceful jobs and careers that offer what the military promises—without giving up your rights and supporting the war machine. The booklet also includes career planning, personal growth, youth leadership and independent living. It will be updated constantly.
For more information, contact the AFSC
Chicago office at
312-427-2533.
Free download (PDF, 3.23 MB).
Maine
Free download (PDF, 542 KB).
For more information, contact Rosalie Tyler Paul of the AFSC Maine Program on Youth and Militarism at 207-371-2077 or gaia@gwi.net.
Maryland
You Don't Have to Join the Military to Go to College, Get a Good Job and Serve Your Country - Created by AFSC's Baltimore office . The 15-page brochure lists information on paying for college, free job training and apprenticeship programs.
Free download (PDF, 241 KB).
Michigan
Created by AFSC's Great Lakes Regional Office. Thirty-six pages filled with many local and national career opportunities: peaceful jobs and careers that offer what the military promises—without giving up your rights and supporting the war machine. The booklet also includes career planning, personal growth, youth leadership and independent living. It will be updated constantly.
For more information, contact the AFSC
Chicago office at
312-427-2533.
Free download (PDF, 2833 KB).
North Carolina
| PDF, 495 KB |
What’s Next? A Guide for North Carolina Teens Wondering ‘What’s After High School?' Created by AFSC's office in Greensboro, NC. Learn about CHOICES for adventure, job training, skill training, money for college, and a chance to serve your country.
Download the PDF's for free.
- Introduction - Pages i-viii (39 KB)
- 1. Surviving the Next Few Years - Pages 1-22 (196 KB)
- 2. Thinking About Jobs and Careers - Pages 23-38 (79 KB)
- 3. Serving Your Country - Pages 39-52 (92 KB)
- 4. Skills Training Opportunities - Pages 53-70 (108 KB)
- 5. Green Jobs - Pages 71-84 (81 KB)
- 6. College: You Can Do It! - Pages 85-96 (100 KB)
- 7. So You Think You Might Want to Join the Military? - Pages 97-106 (70 KB)
Ohio
Created by AFSC's Great Lakes Regional Office. Thirty-six pages filled with many local and national career opportunities: peaceful jobs and careers that offer what the military promises—without giving up your rights and supporting the war machine. The booklet also includes career planning, personal growth, youth leadership and independent living. It will be updated constantly.
For more information, contact the AFSC
Chicago office at
312-427-2533.
Free download (PDF, 2833 KB).
Texas
Created by AFSC's Great Lakes Regional Office. Thirty-four pages filled with many local and national career opportunities: peaceful jobs and careers that offer what the military promises—without giving up your rights and supporting the war machine. The booklet also includes career planning, personal growth, youth leadership and independent living. It will be updated constantly.
For more information, contact the AFSC
Chicago office at
312-427-2533.
Free Download (PDF, 3.34 MB).
Wisconsin
Created by AFSC's Great Lakes Regional Office. Thirty-two pages filled with many local and national career opportunities: peaceful jobs and careers that offer what the military promises—without giving up your rights and supporting the war machine. The booklet also includes career planning, personal growth, youth leadership and independent living. It will be updated constantly.
For more information, contact the AFSC
Chicago office at
312-427-2533.
Free download (PDF, 2833 KB).
Also see:
Alternatives to Killing/Alternatives to Enlistment is an online database of jobs and opportunities from the Center on Conscience and War. It has opportunities around the country that offer more promise for a peaceful life than joining the US military.