Military training program for teens expands in US

Updated: 2007-11-26 20:08


CHICAGO - Dozens of teens dressed in uniforms provided by the US Marines stand at attention in the gym of a Chicago public high school as a drill sergeant goes through a list of the day's do's and don'ts.

Bring your books to class. Come for extra help if you need it. And wear your uniform with pride.

"Young men, you think you can get a haircut and say I'm done for two or three weeks. WRONG," Sgt. Major Thomas Smith Jr. intones.

"Young ladies. There's been no problem with your uniforms but there is a problem with your ties. Again, I will go through it again. Wear your ties when you come to my class."

One in 10 public high school students in Chicago wears a military uniform to school and takes classes -- including how to shoot a gun properly -- from retired veterans.

That number is expected to rise as junior military reserve programs expand across the country now that a congressional cap of 3,500 units has been lifted from the nearly century-old scheme.

Proponents of the junior reserve programs say they provide stability and a sense of purpose for troubled youth and help to instill values such as leadership and responsibility.

But opponents say the programs divert critical resources from crumbling public schools and lead to a militarization of US society.

"To call these young people child soldiers might be technically inaccurate, but it does reveal the truth of it," said Oscar Castro, a spokesman for the National Youth and Militarism Program, an advocacy group.

Military recruiters already have the right to give presentations in public schools and to access databases with the contact information of all public school students whose parents do not remove their children from the list.

But they don't have nearly the same impact as daily interaction with teachers and students in uniform, Castro said.

More:http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-11/26/content_6280180.htm

was committed by two high school Air Force JROTC students

While almsot all of these students may be joining witht he best of intentions, when somebody says "the junior reserve programs say they provide stability and a sense of purpose for troubled youth and help to instill values such as leadership and responsibility.", I can't help but remember the Buddhist Temple Massacre.

http://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/forensics/buddhist_temple/index.html

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To make it interesting, they turned it into a "war game."

They purchased military clothing and gear, including snow boots, camouflage hats, scarves, goggles, and harnesses with knives. Doody borrowed the rifle from Caratachea and Garcia smuggled his uncle's shotgun out of his father's house. They tested them in the White Tank Mountains with silencers, which failed, but were too excited about the plan to give it up.
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...As China's economy grows & the EU strengthens, lingering US military might will be our last vestige of global dominance. It will be all we have and the plan seems to be to perpetuate it through our warrior-society. Welcome to Sparta.

I was in jrotc, got a partial scholarship. No firearms, just air force news and presentations. Joined the ng and that paid the rest, after a bit of a diversion.

You can get full scholarships with a 1000 sat score and jrotc membership. With no obligation to join anything. Including the ROTC in college.

It is not the option for everyone but it should not be removed as an option for people who may be able to use it to afford a better education.

Source seems a bit biased. "scheme" to describe the JROTC.

Others I knew used it as a plus to get into the academys and a few are career officers.

and it helped me to go to college. also i was on the rifle team all four years in HS. I did not learn until college that the lesson on "Trigger control" was in reality a lesson in stress relief. you cannot be very accurate if you are jumpy. I also learned pride and discipline. I played Football for the violence. I learned Teamwork, health, formulating a plan and perseverance. as it turns out both JROTC and Football, helped me in ways that i never would have accepted as regular lessons. thus I consider both activities to be instrumental in my success in university, and life.

and people wonder where they will get the manpower to implement martial law.