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Teaching or Killing: Jr. ROTC Debated

By Terry Selzer

On the morning of Armed Forces Day, May 21, VVAW was invited to send a member to a program sponsored by the Educators for Social Responsibility (ESR) and the Coalition Against Military in the Public Schools (CAMPS). ESR is a group of predominately high school teachers from the city's public, parochial and private schools. They were holding a debate on whether Jr ROTC programs should be allowed in the city's public schools. Currently, there are programs in three NYC public high schools.

The program started with the showing of the slide show "Choice or Chance." Then a retired Navy Commander and teacher of the Navy Jr ROTC program at Julia Richman High School in Manhattan spoke. He started by stating he was apposed to Ronald Reagan, he is against war, you should not believe recruiters, that Vietnam had been a tragedy, and that in his program they specifically try not to encourage students to enlist in the Navy. He was in favor of the program, however, because it didn't teach war: instead, it taught about oceanography and navigation, citizenship and patriotism and discipline. He pointed out that it was not the students in the Jr ROTC program who were spraying graffiti all over. Then, he let the father of a cadet speak.

Mr. Dudley stated that he had been a Marine and that nobody was going to tell him about boot camp. He had been shocked when his son joined. But, now he supported the program because it worked. It didn't teach killing, it taught patriotism. He stated, however, that his son was going to college, not into the Navy, and if there was a war he was getting his son out of it.

A draft counselor from AFSC and CAMPS pointed out that over 50% of the students in the Jr ROTC programs enlist in the military and only 4% get scholarships to colleges. In response to Mr. Dudley's point that the program worked, he reminded the audience that Hitler's brown shirts worked to restore discipline and patriotism in Nazi Germany. He informed people that the military only paid 1/3 of the cost of the Jr ROTC program and the city had to pay the additional 2/3 of the cost.

The VVAW member, Terry Selzer, related his experience in a program that was similar to the Jr ROTC—Civil Air Patrol. He explained that it too didn't teach killing, but taught about aerospace and flight navigation. To young people it was great to wear a uniform and have pride, machoism, etc. However, his experience in CAP did not prepare him for the reality of boot camp at Parris Island or the horrors of war. In Vietnam he learned that the primary job of the military is to wage war.

Following the debate there were questions from the educators. A video tape, prepared by the Columbia University School of Journalism was shown. It showed students in the Jr ROTC program at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. An interesting point in the film was a McDonald's manager who said they would be more apt to hire a student in the ROTC because they could follow orders. After the film, a counselor at DeWitt Clinton pointed out that while the students followed orders in uniform, they didn't bring that behavior in their other classes. The debate was an excellent opportunity for educators to learn more about the military and the Jr ROTC program. For VVAW it was an excellent opportunity to make additional contacts to get into the schools and talk directly to the students.

—Terry Selzer
NY VVAW