I just hope that this doesn’t end up with us turning to a draft. Not that I would have to worry about being taken up if they do draft women with men this time, since I’ve already been proven completely insane according to military doctors. But I do worry about many of the other people I know. I’d probably be going on dates right now if it weren’t for the fact that nearly every guy I know from my town, except for 2 who are my ex’s and involved in other relationships, is now serving overseas. I hope they’re doing ok.
I wonder how many of these parents are ‘Security Moms’ and ‘Security Dads’, who voted for GWB?
[sub]This is not a Bush-bash. I really do wonder.[/sub]
I don’t think you have to worry about a military draft. For what I call a “war of opportunity”, a draft would be unthinkable. . . and political suicide.
Now if the Soviets had invaded North Dakota and we needed people, then hell yeah, a draft would be necessary. But not here.
Tripler
“Wars of opportunity” vs. “wars of necessity”.
Parents have always been a challenge. If your applicant is 17, or if his or her parents have a stong say in their decisions, whatever the applicant’s age might be, then the recruiter will spend a considerable amount of time ‘recruiting’ the parents, too. PTAs, administrators, and various others, have in various places banded together to express their opnions of the military in the past, too.
This is old news, being dusted off and given a shiny coat of varnish to make it look like something significant and fresh.
shrug
This former recruiter is neither surprised, nor distressed.
Mountains and molehills…
It does crack me up that these same parents have no problem with the other forms of propaganda on campus (soft drinks, fast food chains). Although they will also kill you, I guess it’s much slower! 
So that’s how the marine recuiter got my phone number…
Come on. Would you rather have your kid get a Big Mac or a 7.62mm round in the chest? I don’t see anything funny about that dichotomy at all.
Just one of the possible ways. There are scores of ways to obtain demographics on potential recruits.
I agree that it’s not funny or equal, but plenty of teenagers get killed in robberies while working in fast food restaurants.
I agree that it’s also not ‘news’ per se that parents want to keep their kids from doing something potentially dangerous, or from moving away from home at 17/18. When I went to enlist, my dad was sad and my mom was quietly happy that I wasn’t accepted due to my scoliosis. I was devastated.
When my Dad was 18, Spain had compulsory military service for men and compulsory social service for women (folklore preservation, assistance in hospitals, teaching adults to read).
He never forgave his mother for “arranging” things so he’d be declared unnaceptable; his eyesight was bad, but not bad enough to get discharged for it. We weren’t in a war or anything, she just didn’t want him leaving. For some reason, she always saw him as the most fragile of her children.
So like Tranquilis said, this is very old news. And in most cases, each parent’s view of the military as a “good” or “bad” career option has nothing to do with the job itself, much like all those people who think that being a Chemist makes me some sort of Himmler disciple (sheesh).