Students are told about the positive benefits of joining one of the military services, but do they know about the possible negatives? Young people need to get as complete and balanced a picture of any job or career as possible before deciding whether or not to apply. Unfortunately, military recruiters rarely provide a complete picture of the cons as well as pros of military enlistment.

We are providing this information to help students make a more informed decision about their future. It doesn't help either the potential recruit or the armed services to have people in the military who don't really want to be there or who are there for the wrong reasons. It is a much more dangerous job than most, involving a high risk of injury or death. Unlike other jobs, the military is not something a person can "just quit" if they don't like it; getting out is not a simple task and may involve problems at that time and later in life.

Maine Draft and Military Counselors can help people who want to get out of the military's Delayed Entry Program (DEP), but such situations are minimized when young people know as clearly as possible what to expect before making a decision to join up.

It is a responsibility of guidance counselors and others working with students, especially those graduating and considering their career options, to help them find out as much as possible about jobs they are considering after leaving high school. Hearing only the good parts of any job or career possibility, no matter how attractive it might seem, is not enough. Counselors can help by encouraging access to literature, speakers, and other information giving a balanced view of military service.

Some high school students decide, usually during their senior year in high school, to enlist in the military. Usually they sign up with the DEP (or Early Enlistment Program). Many students research their options, know both pros and cons of military service, talk to veterans who had both good or bad experiences, and make an informed decision.

In many other cases, students have signed an enlistment agreement with the DEP for questionable reasons (need to leave home, don't know what else to do) and know little about what they are getting into. They often change their mind before entering the service but are often told by recruiters, and sometimes school personnel, that they cannot get out of the DEP. THIS IS FALSE. They can get out of the agreement by writing a letter to the recruiting commander giving reasons why they do not want to join the military and/or simply by not reporting to basic training. Maine Draft and Military Counselors (MDMC) can provide more information about what students can do when they change their mind and how guidance counselors and other school personnel can help them. Counselors with questions about the DEP or military service should contact MDMC.

Here are some of the issues that a guidance counselor should present to students BEFORE they consider enlistment in either the DEP or directly into a branch of the armed services:

The military offers recruits up to $50,000 for higher education, but only about five percent of all those who sign up actually receive that amount(by passing tests and accepting certain Military Occupation Specialties), another twenty percent get about $25,000, about 25 percent receive about $5,000, and the remaining fifty percent get no education benefits at all. All enlistees requesting education benefits pay about $1,200 into an education fund, but only half get any money out.

As Vice President and former Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney has said, "the reason to have a military is to be prepared to fight and win wars...it's not a jobs program." Most military job skills are not transferrable to civilian careers, and veterans earn 11-19 percent less than non-veterans from similar backgrounds. Additional training is required; veterans will need to go back to school or enter job training programs. All promises by recruiters or a military service about job placements, even those in writing, are null and void if there is a military action such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Both women and recruits who are African-American, Latin-American, or Native American are under-represented as officers, compared to their numbers as enlisted personnel. Women experience high rates of sexual harassment (as high as 90 percent) and unofficial estimates of women being raped while in the military aare as high as one in three. Persons who are gay, lesbian, or bisexual cannot be open about their sexual orientation ("Don't Ask, Don't Tell) and are discharged if that is discovered.

The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) does not always provide soldiers with the same rights they would have in a civilian court of law. Recruits cannot simply quit the military if they don't like it. Freedom to come and go is restricted; free speech is limited, and soldiers can be punished without trial or jury. People in the military are on-call 24 hours a day for much of their service.

Soldiers serving in the 1991 Gulf War have experienced high rates of "Gulf War Syndrome," even those who never went into battle. US military use of Depleted Uranium endangers anyone serving in a war zone. There are few guarantees of enlistees being able to serve in a safe area, especially given current international tensions in so many parts of the world. Soldiers have had their health damaged by atomic testing, Agent Orange, experimental vaccines, and toxic weapons. Military service is as hazardous as working in the Maine woods and more dangerous than most other jobs, even when not in a war zone.

The purpose of the military is not to provide a career, or to offer travel and adventure, or to help pay for higher education. The purpose is to kill an enemy and defend the United States and its interests throughout the world. Not every recruit is comfortable with the military's emphasis on training to kill, which is what recruits are taught in basic training. They are told what to do as soon as they enter the service, and questioning authority is not tolerated. Serving in the military can be dangerous; fighting in a war means the chance of being killed or killing others, and those who live may suffer bodily or psychological damage from their experiences.

For more information, contact: Larry Dansinger, Maine Draft and Military Counselors, 161 Stovepipe Alley, Monroe, ME 04951, (207) 525-7776, rosc@psouth.net