"Almost 600,000 of America's 1 million active and reserve soldiers enlisted as teens," begins this piece from In These Times that is the latest riff on the old NCLB military recruiting story (
America's Child Soldier Problem). "
The military lures these physiologically immature kids with a PR machine that would make Joe Camel proud. Its 7,350 17-year-olds needed parental consent to enlist, and only this April were all barred from battle zones. But the military aims even lower, marketing itself to children as young as 13 with multimedia videos, school visits and cold calls to teens' homes and cell phones."
Comments
Well, I went in at 17 and retired from the Army Reserve 32 years later. I managed OK.
Posted by: John N. Davis | May 20, 2007 5:34 PM