United airlines serves military kool aide for a fee

[donsu]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0605060077may06,1,6555598.story?coll=chi-business-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true


Military PR flies friendly skies
Pentagon pays United to show in-flight video

United Airlines has begun showing an in-flight video about military glamor jobs that was produced and funded by the Department of Defense--a fact passengers do not learn from watching it.

Sandwiched between NBC sitcoms and Discovery Channel previews, "Today's Military," as the 13-minute program is called, highlights five jobs that few members of the armed forces could point to as their own.

While hundreds of thousands of men and women serve overseas, many in dangerous places, the video only explicitly shows one soldier beyond U.S. borders: a Hawaii-based Army animal-care specialist doing humanitarian work in Thailand.

Others featured, including an Air Force language instructor and a Navy petty officer who teaches others how to survive ejecting from aircraft, are based in California and Washington.

Also setting apart the program from the usual in-flight fare of ESPN clips and cable news is who foots the bill. The airlines usually pay for the entertainment programs. But the Department of Defense is paying United about $36,000 to run its video from April 17 to May 17, said Lt. Bradley Terrill, project officer for "Today's Military."
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[mainer]

1. US Air ticket envelope includes a National Guard application

The last few times I checked in at the airport for my E-tickets, I noticed that the ticket-holding envelopes had a tear-off section with an ad and application to join the national guard. I also noticed that the rubbish can nearby contained a lot of crumpled-up applications!

[phusion]

2. rofl

he video only explicitly shows one soldier beyond U.S. borders: a Hawaii-based Army animal-care specialist doing humanitarian work in Thailand.

:rofl:

That's just wrong...

[Book Lover]

3. Oh, c'mon

Who isn't going to figure out that it's taxpayer-funded, service-created propaganda?

[enlightenment]

4. There are many foolish people out there.

One of my students came roaring into class this week with her hair standing on end (and not because it was styled that way).
She's married, 30-something, with 3 kids under ten. Husband is also in his early 30s.
He has a good job, she is almost finished with her teacher certification, life is pretty much okay.

Apparently, she and hubby had a spat, a relatively rare occurrence in their lives.
Hubby goes out with a four or five of his buds.
He comes home and informs her that he (along with his friends) had ENLISTED in the Navy.

sigh.

Many foolish people.