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Stand Up for Truth in Recruiting

One day is not enough!

The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), an international social justice organization, launches a National Call to Action — a series of rallies, workshops and demonstrations across the country, Friday, May 20 to highlight what it calls the growing trend of recruiter misconduct.

We are calling on activists, allies and those concerned with the militarization of youth to use May 20 to:

• conduct teach-ins and workshops
• plan peaceful demonstrations at heavily recruited schools
• host press conferences with youth and family members who have been negatively affected by military recruiters
• peacefully picket recruitment stations

Themes for these events will include:

• exposure of the unethical and illegal tactics used by recruiters, particularly in poor communities and communities of color
• lack of parent & student awareness about the No Child Left Behind Act (Military Recruiter Provision - Sec. 9528) that gives recruiters unfettered access to private, confidential information in violation of privacy clauses
• the de-militarization of schools and the need for viable alternatives – college, training, and living wage jobs

Here’s why: The Army plans to suspend all recruiting on May 20 because of reports of widespread abuses in enlistment tactics. Reports of serious recruiter improprieties — including fraud and coercion — have surfaced, prompting the need, recruiters say, for retraining. Recruiters give the impression that a few “bad apples” are violating standards, due to the increased difficulty of meeting recruitment quotas during the extended war and occupation in Iraq. We know different. 

For the past 20 years, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has worked to expose what we believe to be the systemic and widespread problem of abusive and unethical recruitment practices. It’s an issue that touches not only the Army, but also every branch of the Armed Services.

Events listings follow below.

Western Massachusetts/AFSC

Protest Friday May 20 Against Military Recruitment

Where: Military Recruitment Office
Federal Building, 1550 Main St. in Springfield, MA

When: Friday May 20, 4 - 6 PM

Sponsored by: American Friends Service Committee, Springfield Catholic Workers, International Socialist Organization, Traprock Peace Center, Lokapala Organization, Veterans for Peace, Waronoke Peace Action. To add your organization to the list of sponsors please call Charles at 413-949-0234 or email charles299792@yahoo.com.

Why We are Protesting on May 20:

In response to the recent exposure of serious recruiter improprieties including fraud and coercion the U.S. Army is issuing a stand down order to all Army recruiters for May 20th, 2005. The American Friends Service Committee is responding with a national call to action for May 20th, 2005 under the banner, Stand Up for Truth in Recruiting: One Day is not Enough! Stand with us to protest:

• exposure of the unethical and illegal tactics used by recruiters, particularly in poor communities and communities of color
• lack of parent & student awareness about the No Child Left Behind Act Military Recruiter Provision (Sec. 9528) and school violations of privacy clauses
• the use of JROTC to create generations loyal to and unquestioning of the military
• the need for viable alternatives to military service college, vocational training, living wage jobs

The military has clear regulations that are allegedly shared with its recruiters during their job training, yet an Army spokesperson recently revealed to the Associated Press that the Army has investigated 480 allegations of impropriety by recruiters since Oct. 1, 2004. Some of these cases are still open while 91 of the 480 allegations have thus far been considered founded. To date, eight recruiters have been relieved of duty and another 98 have been reprimanded by their commands.

Please join us at this picket. Bring signs, banners, friends, co-workers!

And If you haven't signed the petition for Pablo Paredes, you can do it now at www.defendpablo.org.

AFSC Baltimore

Stand Up for Truth in Recruiting: One Day is Not Enough!

What: In response to the recent exposure of serious recruiter improprieties, including fraud and coercion, the U.S. Army is issuing a "stand down" order to all Army recruiters for May 20th, 2005. The American Friends Service Committee is responding with a national call to action under the banner, "Stand Up for Truth in Recruiting".

When: Friday May 20, 2005 from 5 – 6 PM

Where: In front of the Baltimore City School Board at 200 E. North Avenue

Join us for a peaceful protest to:

• Say No to the Militarization of Our Youth
• And Yes to Jobs and Education!

For more information, call Tia Steele or Dominque Stevenson at 410-323-7200.

The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization that includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice, peace and humanitarian service. Its work is based on the belief in the worth of every person and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice.

AFSC Chicago

Organizing a press conference and rally at Senn High School.

5900 N. Glenwood
Chicago, IL 60660

AFSC Contact: 312-427-2533

New York City

On May 20th the Army Stands Down, But We Stand UP!
Stand UP Against Predatory Recruiters in Our Schools
Stand UP for Money for College, Not Combat
Stand UP for Paredes and Benderman
Stand UP for Bringing Troops Home from Iraq!
Stand UP Against war profiteers

Protest Friday, 5 - 7 PM, outside Times Square recruiting center at 43rd and Broadway

Sponsored by: Campus Antiwar Network, Code Pink, International Socialist Organization, Not in Our Name, Veterans for Peace, Vietnam Veterans Against the War.

List in formation - to sponsor or for more info, email wrigleyfield@nyu.edu.

Rochester, NY

Recruiters Lie, Our Children Die?

The pentagon called for the Army to stand down, we call for everyone to stand up!!!

The Campus Antiwar Network (CAN) calls for a national day of action against recruiters.

The U.S. Army is halting its recruiting efforts for one day due to abuses across the country by recruiters. Join us!!!

16 E. Main Street
(outside Army recruiting station)
Friday May 20th
4:30 PM

Bring your signs and energy!!!

For more info contact:
March12rawc@yahoo.com

Washington, DC Area

What: Protest the recruitment of soldiers sent to kill or be killed in Iraq. Protest the lies recruiters say to meet their recruiting quotas.

When: Friday, May 20, 5pm

Where: Army Recruiting Station at 14th & L Sts NW, DC (nearest metro is McPherson Square)

On Friday the Army will halt all recruiting activities for a one-day review of the tactics they use to find new recruits. In response anti-war activists will gather outside an Army recruiting station in DC to say "one day is not enough!"

The US Army is currently struggling to find new soldiers to fight in their bloody wars. In recent months they've faced growing public outrage at the lies and methods they use to sign up new recruits. The result has been the emergence of a national counter-recruitment struggle that involves students, parents, teachers, activists and others who want to see a stop to the military's recruiting practices.

A national day of action has been called by Campus Anti-War Network (CAN) and American Friends Services Committee (AFSC) for this Friday, May 20th. In support of these calls, DC Anti-War Network is calling on all those angry at military recruitment to join us at 5:00 pm in a protest outside the DC recruiting station at 1099 14th St, NW to say loud and clear "one day is not enough!"

* * *

Protest at U.S. Armed Forces Recruiting Center in Silver Spring, Maryland set for Friday, May 27th from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Beneath banners that read "Truth, Honor & Integrity" military recruiters lie, steal, cheat, forge, hide and deal to entice young people to join the United States armed forces. They're driven by quotas they haven't been able to fill. Fewer are willing to die for lies.

Join us on Friday, May 27th at 5:00 pm for a nonviolent spirited confrontation in front of the Armed Forces Recruiting Station at 8202 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, Maryland. The station is located a few blocks from the Silver Spring Metro at the intersection of Silver Spring Ave. and Georgia Ave. (from the South Side Metro Exit, walk one block east on Bonifant St. to Georgia Avenue, then right 2 blocks to the recruiting station.)

Driving from DC, the recruiting station is on the left, about two blocks past East-West Highway (Rt. 410).

This demonstration is sponsored by the DC Antiwar Network, (DAWN)

Ideas for signs:

Stop the lies!

Tell the truth!

For more information: www.dawndc.net

San Diego, CA

What: "Why I became a Conscientious Objector," presented by Aidan Delgado, Honorably Discharged Iraq War Veteran who spent 6 months helping administer the  Abu Ghraib prison.

When: Friday, May 20, 7:30 PM

Where: First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego
4190 Front Street, Hillcrest, San Diego (opposite UCSD Medical Center)
* limited free parking in church ACE parking lot
*Wheelchair Accessible

Cost: Donation Requested

Aidan Delgado is a former U.S. Army Reserve soldier, recently returned from noncombatant duty in Iraq, including six months in Nasiriyah and six months helping administer the Abu Ghraib prison.

He received an honorable discharge and was awarded four service medals; he was ultimately granted Conscientious Objector status, and is now attending a Florida honors college, completing a degree in religion.

He will talk and answer audience questions about his experiences as a soldier in Iraq, about the U.S. military's treatment of prisoners in Iraq, and about the effects of the war on the Iraqi people. He was witness to widespread, almost daily U.S. war crimes in Iraq. His story contains new revelations about ongoing brutality at Abu Ghraib, information yet to be reported in the national media.

Presented by: Peace and Democracy Action Group, First Unitarian Universalist Church, San Diego, CA

The Peace and Democracy Action Group's (PDAG) mission is to provide current and credible information related to issues of Peace and Democracy through regular email, information tables, and through their monthly Matters of Controversy Series . They also sponsor pro-peace events such as concerts, theatrical events and documentary film presentations. PDAG collaborates with other community groups on events that promote public awareness and involvement in issues of social significance. Their objective is to enhance our collective understanding of world events and foster compassion for those who are suffering.  They believe that this can lead to greater peace and justice, both within the local community and beyond.

For More Information: PeaceDemTF@aol.com or
(858)459-4650

San Francisco, CA

Press conference:
3:00 pm, Friday, May 20, 2005
Davis Street Army Recruiting Station, San Francisco, CA

What:

• Exposure of the unethical and illegal tactics used by recruiters to “sign-up” young people into the military
• Lack of parent & student awareness about the No Child Left Behind Act (Military Recruiter Provision - Sec. 9528) that gives recruiters access to private, confidential student information.
• Stop-loss orders that effectively nullify military service agreements.

Why: The Army plans to suspend all recruiting tomorrow, May 20, because of reports of widespread abuses in enlistment tactics. Reports of serious recruiter improprieties — including fraud and coercion — have surfaced, prompting the need, recruiters say, for retraining. Recruiters give the impression that a few “bad apples” are violating standards, due to the increased difficulty of meeting recruitment quotas during the extended war and occupation of Iraq. We know that one day is not enough to change a culture that demands aggressive recruitment tactics that minimize the reality of a soldier’s life, overstate military benefits, and mythologize war.

Where: Army Recruiting Station, 670 Davis, San Francisco, CA

Interviews available from the following:

STEVE MORSE, is the GI Rights Program Coordinator for the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors in Oakland, doing coordination work for the GI Rights Hotline Network which answered 32,000 calls in 2004. In the US Army from 1969 through 1971, he saw combat in Vietnam and was active in the GI Resistance movement. He is an active member of Veterans for Peace Chapter 69 in San Francisco.

JOSH SONDHEIMER attorney working on the stop loss legal case, Doe vrs. Rumsfeld.

Members from the SF School Board

SANDRA SCHWARTZ coordinator of the AFSC Peace Education program.

Philadelphia, PA

What: A community dialogue to launch a grassroots campaign to let students and parents know our right to "Opt Out" & to demand that money for war and prisons go instead to caregivers, youth and communities!

When: Monday, May 23, 5:30-8pm
$3-$10 requested donation. No one turned away. Childcare & translation available.

Where: Tabernacle United Church, 3700 Chestnut St., West Philadelphia.

Who: Keynote speaker Margaret Prescod, anti-war, women's rights & Black community activist; part of historic NYC fight for community control of schools; Pacifica Radio/LA host; US co-coordinator, Global Women's Strike. 

Panel of students, parents, military families, vets & others featuring Chester parents and students who kicked out Edison Corp. from running their schools; Students who are organizing Opt Out campaigns in their schools.

Video clips from "Military Myths: What the Recruiters Won't Tell You".

Speak Out: End the Twin Terrors of Poverty and War Raise your concerns, find out about saying NO to ROTC & other military recruitment; the "poverty draft" targeting youth of color, women & other low income communities; conditions in schools; the criminalization of survival; US efforts to destabilize Venezuela; US/ UN occupation of Haiti. Get sample Opt Out forms.

Coordinated by: Global Women's Strike/Phila, Payday
Co-sponsors: AWOL Magazine, Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors (CCCO), Every Mother is a Working Mother Network, Survivors Take Action Against Abuse by Military Personnel (STAAAMP). 
Endorsers to date: Brandywine Peace Community, PRAWN

Rio Grande, NJ.

What: The Federation of Democratic Women are holding a Stand Up for Truth in Recruitment event.

When: Friday, May 20, 6-7 PM.

Where: Army Recruiters Office in Rio Grande, NJ.

Working Assets Campaign

Opt Out Your Child at LeaveMyChildAlone.org

Working Assets, in partnership with The MMOB and ACORN, has created a Web site that makes it easy for parents to Opt Out their children from the military recruitment lists public schools are required to provide.

You'll find all the information you need at our new site: www.LeaveMyChildAlone.org

Go to www.LeaveMyChildAlone.org and protect your child from military recruiters now.

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