:)
I know you sent me an email, but I figured I'd post the response in public, in case it can benefit other people. Some of it you already know, being family and all, but it may help to have it put together in one place.
1. First off, here are the local
contacts for Veterans for Peace - you can find the chapters in your area, and ask them for counter-recruitment pamphlets.
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/chapters_112603.htm2.
How the enlistment contract is written. This is taken directly from an enlistment contract:
9. FOR ALL ENLISTEES OR REENLISTEES: Many laws, regulations, and military customs will govern my conduct and require me to do things a civilian does not have to do. The following statements are not promises or guarantees of any kind. They explain some of the present laws affecting the Armed Forces which I cannot change but which Congress can change at any time.
a. My enlistment is more than an employment agreement...
b. Laws and regulations regarding military personnel may change without notice to me. Such changes may effect my status, pay, allowances, benefits, and responsibilities as a member of the Armed Forces REGARDLESS of the provisions of this enlistment/reenlistment document.
c. In the event of war, my enlistment in the Armed Forces continues until six (6) months after the war ends, unless my enlistment is ended sooner by the President of the United States.
3. Long term,
veterans earn LESS than civilians.
http://www.v-r-a.org/docs/DisAVets.htm#_ednref12 has a table showing the discrepancy. Veterans earn roughly 12% less than nonvets - all in all, $180,000 less over the course of a lifetime. One of the reasons is that they spend a large amount of their younger years training in a job that doesn't translate to civilian skills, another is that they deal with the aftereffects of things like PTSD.
4.
Casualty rates. A lot of people think of that as just the number of troops killed, but it also includes injured. In Iraq, we have over 2,000 killed - but over 20,000 killed or injured. And that doesn't include the PTSD folks, or the folks that will come back with DU poisoning, or the suicides that occur after they return. And it doesn't address things like the odd cocktails of vaccines you get in the military, without being informed (I had that), or other games they play with your health, without letting you know. I don't know what to make of this, for example, but I can't donate blood anymore because I lived in Germany for over 6 months during the 80's, as a military dependent. The red cross won't accept my blood, because I'm at an increased risk for Mad Cow Disease. I wouldn't have a huge issue with that, except that if I'd lived there as a civilian, let's say a foreign exchange student who had nothing to do with the military, they WOULD accept my blood. So that means there was something about being in the military that put me at an increased risk. Coincidentally, while I was there, they would have these great deals where once a week, once a month, I forget the frequency, we all got vouchers for free/drastically reduced steak at the commissary. It was part of some government surplus program for farmers. So they dumped a bunch of beef on us that apparently wasn't as safe as what was being sold in the US, or as safe as what was being sold in Germany. It didn't meet either country's standard. We've never been notified of the risk from the army, never got a letter with information about it, would never know except that the Red Cross considers my blood tainted. What the hell.
5.
Rape and Assault in the military. Nearly one in four female outpatients using Veterans Affairs medical centers reports being sexually assaulted during a tour of duty.
http://www.gaymilitary.ucsb.edu/ResearchResources/PressClips/news10_31_99.htm If you are assaulted, the odds of the command chain doing anything meaningful about it are slim. If you look at the Tailhook incident (Air Force, btw), 140 aviators were found guilty of sexually assaulting 90 people. NONE of them were court-martialed. Then in 2003, this: "Air Force Secretary James Roche testified before the Senate Armed Service Committee yesterday that the Air Force has found at least 54 cases where women have been raped or sexually assaulted at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs."
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/04/07/0320236 And then this: "In a startling revelation, the former commander of Abu Ghraib prison testified that Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, former senior US military commander in Iraq, gave orders to cover up the cause of death for some female American soldiers serving in Iraq. Last week, Col. Janis Karpinski told a panel of judges at the Commission of Inquiry for Crimes against Humanity Committed by the Bush Administration in New York that several women had died of dehydration because they refused to drink liquids late in the day. They were afraid of being assaulted or even raped by male soldiers if they had to use the women's latrine after dark."
http://majikthise.typepad.com/majikthise_/2006/01/military_concea.html6.
Veterans benefits that recruiters promise are bullshit. I'm saying that firsthand. I got a big song and dance about how once you're a vet, the VA will treat you for anything, no problem. That was bullshit. Benefits get cut, eligibility can be slashed at anytime, even if the recruiter is telling you the truth at the time that he says something, the government can turn around and change the rules on you (see section 9c of the contract, above). When Joe (the ex) needed surgery, Joe who served 4 years active duty as a Russian linguist during the Cold War, he had to fly to Russia to get the surgery, because he wasn't eligible through the VA, and couldn't afford it in the states. That's the most pathetic thing ever to me, that a veteran can only get medical care from the so-called enemy they were fighting, because the country they served turns their collective backs on you once you return.
7.
Length of time of commitment. Young people don't know where their lives are going to take them. Hell, old people don't know where their lives are going to take them, as often as not. When you sign up, you're always thinking it's a 2 year enlistment, or a 4 year enlistment. It's not. I signed up for 4 years, and there was a little fine print about the IRR, which, as the recruiter explained, was just a matter of being in a database. No actual duty required. No big deal. So I went in, for my four years. Then real life happened, and I got pregnant. Luckily, I knew a little about my rights, because the recruiter had mentioned if you get pregnant, you have the option of terminating your contract. I opted to do that, because 2 deployable military parents didn't seem like a good idea to me - what happens to your 3 month old if both of you have to go to the field at once, for a month long assignment? So I got out. Then - and only then - I found out I was actually not out, but in the IRR til the remainder of my 8 year commitment. No problem.
After my kid was born, as a nursing mom, I got my letter assigning me to a local Reserves Unit for the monthly drills and two weeks training. The reserve unit they assigned me to was almost an hour away. I didn't have reliable transportation (our car was alright for driving around town, but would frequently die and leave us having to walk home, and would sit abandoned for a few days until the Gods of Electrical Starters would decide it should run again). So I had a baby that couldn't be fed if I was gone for 9 hours, I was going to be listed as AWOL if I don't report for duty, but I had no way of getting there, the needed repairs on the car cost way the hell more than I could afford, way the hell more than the crap pay I was going to earn in 2 days a month. Welcome to the reserves, where it COSTS you money to work.
That was resolved - like was mentioned upthread, by getting retrained into a different specialty. I was fortunate, because at least for me, there was a closer unit to where I lived, one that happened to have an opening. I guess I would have been AWOL otherwise - I have no clue what would have happened. That whole guarantee of a job? There's no guarantee the job you've been trained for will exist in the area you chose to live in, once you're in the IRR. Should mention, also, I got called up out of the IRR in peace time. There was no conflict going on, it was just a random "you got out early because of the pregnancy, so now you owe us the full 8 years." I was retrained as an Order of Battle specialist. There's not a lot of call for that job in the civilian world.
And here's how the benefits worked with that. During the pregnancy, I had complications - was in the hospital on an IV for weeks - that top number of my blood pressure was down in the 50's; I was a mess. I'd be on the IV on bed rest, I'd get out, the army would make me pull duty, my body couldn't handle it, they'd toss me back in the hospital. They made it clear I couldn't do the discharge papers while I was actually IN the hospital. So I panicked - was afraid they wouldn't let me out at all. Once the kid is born, you don't have that option to leave anymore. So on one of my releases from the hospital, I crammed the paperwork through the system, afraid it was now or never. (Got it through a little faster than normal by showing up in people's offices, and saying "if I have to wait, you should probably move a trashcan over here, because I throw up about every half hour.) Got out a few weeks shy of the 2 year mark. As a result, all the GI benefits went down the drain. That's what I signed up for, in part, to help pay for grad school. Gone. But MY commitment remained, still had to put in those 8 years, got a few scares of being called up and deployed once Desert Storm hit, those luckily those each fell through for my unit - but still, none of the benefits, all of the commitment. That's how the contracts work. You commit to everything, no matter what. They commit to ... absolutely nothing.
Now with the stop loss going on, people are finding out that it's not a 4 year commitment, not an 8 year commitment, but in fact a commitment that can consume your entire life, at the will of the government. In the amount of time you're committed for, anything could happen. The last thing I was thinking about when I enlisted was that I might have a child - ever. You could have to leave a child unattended, quit college, leave parents that are sick, leave a spouse that is sick. Anything.
8.
College money. "To qualify for any college aid at all, you have to pay a $1200 non-refundable deposit to the military. If you receive a less-than-honorable discharge (as about one in four people do), leave the military in less than 3 years, (as one in three do), or later decide not to go to college, the military will keep your deposit and give you nothing.
57% of the veterans who sign up for the GI Bill have never seen a penny in college assistance, and the average net payout to veterans has been only $2151. 29% of veterans have been determined not eligible for benefits at the time of their discharge, either for being discharged early or with a less than honorable discharge. These veterans have thus lost both their $1200 payroll deduction and any hope of benefits at all.
Even for veterans who qualify for the MGIB, there is still one more surprising twist. When a veteran files for Federal Student Aid to determine how much they can pay for college,
money from the GI Bill is counted as an asset, and subtracted from whatever aid package they would have received if they weren't getting money from the GI Bill. Therefore, the expected out-of-pocket financial contribution from a veteran will be exactly the same as if they never entered the military. The total financial aid package will be no greater than for a non-veteran of equal financial status.
The military takes in a lot of money that will not be paid back. In other words, it’s really the military that profits, not veterans."
http://www.famedetroit.org/milfacts.htm9.
I won't be in danger if I'm in the Air Force! The families of these troops might disagree.
Brown, Bruce E. Technical Sergeant 32 U.S. Air Force 78th Logistics Readiness Squadron Non-hostile - vehicle accident Al Udeid (near) Coatopa Alabama US
Fresques, Jeremy Captain 26 U.S. Air Force 23rd Special Tactics Squadron Non-hostile - airplane crash Jalawlah (near) Clarkdale Arizona US
Argel, Derek Captain 28 U.S. Air Force 23rd Special Tactics Squadron Non-hostile - airplane crash Jalawlah (near) Lompoc California US
Mariano, Jude C. Master Sergeant 39 U.S. Air Force 615th Air Mobility Operations Squadron Non-hostile - vehicle accident Doha Vallejo California US
Jacobson, Elizabeth Nicole Airman 1st Class 21 U.S. Air Force 17th Security Forces Squadron Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack Camp Bucca (near) Riviera Beach Florida US
Holt, Antoine J. Airman 1st Class 20 U.S. Air Force 603rd Air Control Squadron Hostile - hostile fire - mortar attack Balad (Balad Air Base) Kennesaw Georgia US
Peters, Dustin W. Staff Sergeant 25 U.S. Air Force 314th Logistics Readiness Squadron Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack FOB Summerall (near, nr. Bayji) El Dorado Kansas US
Sather, Scott Douglas Staff Sergeant 29 U.S. Air Force 24th Special Tactics Squadron Hostile - hostile fire Southern part Clio Michigan US
Auchman, Steven E. Master Sergeant 37 U.S. Air Force 5th Air Support Operations Squadron Hostile - hostile fire - mortar attack Mosul Waterloo New York US
Scott, David A. Master Sergeant 51 U.S. Air Force 445th Communications Flight Non-hostile - unspecified cause Doha Union Ohio US
Boria, John J. Captain 29 U.S. Air Force 911th Air Refueling Squadron Non-hostile - vehicle accident Doha Broken Arrow Oklahoma US
Norton, Jason L. Technical Sergeant 32 U.S. Air Force 3rd Security Forces Squadron Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack Taji (near)
Miami Oklahoma US
Griffin Jr., Patrick Lee Staff Sergeant 31 U.S. Air Force 728th Air Control Squadron Non-hostile - ordnance accident Ad Diwaniyah Elgin South Carolina US
Anderson Jr., Carl L. Airman 1st Class 21 U.S. Air Force 3rd Logistics Readiness Squadron Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack Mosul (south of) Georgetown South Carolina US
Espaillat Jr., Pedro I. Senior Airman 20 U.S. Air Force 4th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Non-hostile - weapon discharge Kirkuk Columbia Tennessee US
Das, Eric Bruce Captain 30 U.S. Air Force 333rd Fighter Squadron Hostile - jet crash Tikrit (near) Amarillo Texas US
Moss Jr., Walter M. Technical Sergeant 37 U.S. Air Force 366th Civil Engineer Squadron Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack Baghdad (near) Houston Texas US
Rangel, Ray Staff Sergeant 29 U.S. Air Force 7th Civil Engineering Squadron Non-hostile - vehicle accident (drowning) Balad (near) San Antonio Texas US
McElroy, Brian Staff Sergeant 28 U.S. Air Force 3rd Security Forces Squadron Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack Taji (near) San Antonio Texas US
Watkins III, William Randolph Major 37 U.S. Air Force 333rd Fighter Squadron Hostile - jet crash Tikrit (near)
Downs, William Major 40 U.S. Air Force 6th Special Operations Squadron Non-hostile - airplane crash Jalawlah (near) Winchester Virginia US
Crate, Casey Staff Sergeant 26 U.S. Air Force 23rd Special Tactics Squadron Non-hostile - airplane crash Jalawlah (near) Spanaway Washington US
That doesn't include injuries. Just guessing randomly, based on overall statistics, I'd say multiply that list by ten for a rough estimate of total casualties. She should be aware, especially as a woman, that she's vulnerable to being pulled into a position of checking female Iraqi's at checkpoints, no matter what her job series is. Regina Clark was a good example of that. She was a navy reservist, trained as a cook. They put her in Iraq, assigned her to a checkpoint. Here's a transcript of a CNN interview referencing her:
"KAYE: Lance Corporal Erin Liberty remembers the explosion violently lifting the truck in the air. Her seat mate, 43-year-old Regina Clark was on fire.
LIBERTY: I look over to my left, and I see her, and she bounced down on the bench really hard and she just bounced up and she just tumbled into the flames. I looked over, all I could see was orange fire and flames and then she was gone.
KAYE: Clark was later identified only by her dog tags. The women were returning to Camp Fallujah from guarding checkpoints and inspecting Muslim women for weapons. Male Marines were escorting the women's truck." http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0512/24/cst.03.html
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