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On Guard Against the Guard

By Robert Oliver

(The following article appeared in the Chicago Defender and is used by permission of its author, Robert Oliver; Oliver is now a member of the Illinois air National Guard, applying for conscientious objector status.)

You're walking out to the recruiter's office with a fist full of literature. You read statements like "30 days of vacation annually, free medical care, free college education, training for a skill, travel worldwide for free or for low-cost, retirement checks after 20 years of service, free from and board." You think how many other jobs have these benefits? And the service just wants two to six years of your life, depending on which branch. And if you like it, you can stay. That's job security. Uncle Sam is not going out of business for a long time.

There are benefits to entering the military service. However, there are obligations you must consider before you sign your enlistment contract and take the oath. One fact about the armed services is that they are armed. Their purpose is to wage or prepare for war. It may be "peacetime" when you join, but you may find yourself in combat situations (as in a "police action"). You have no choice but to go where they order you to go. It won't matter what you think about current U.S. foreign policy.

Also I you are told to kill people, you kill people. Even people you feel personally or ethnically close to. You have no choice. Being killed is also a possibility. Consider this reality.

"It has good training to help me find a job when I get out." As to jobs in the civilian world, the military can help, but where can you find in the classified, "Help Wanted: infantry-man, tank, mechanic, mortarman, missile silo technician?"

In most cases there are no guarantees that you will find the job you want after you enlist. There are also no guarantees that you will find the job you want after you get out. Your choices can be limited. They will put you where they need you. That is their first consideration. They will also send you where they need you. It could be anywhere from the Philippines to Greenland. Think about it.

"Well, I'll quit if I don't like it." Quit? You signed a contract. You can't quit. You may ask for a discharge which may be denied. If you try to quit anyway, you can be declared AWOL. You can be court-martialed and punished under the Uniform code of Military Justice; you can be sent to jail. You are under the control of your superiors 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You are always on duty.

"A Marine veteran told me it will make a man out of me." Military life is not adulthood and being on your won. You will find more people telling you what to do than when you were a child. You won't run your own life for a while. You will belong to the U.S. government.

Advice: Don't sign any papers. Take them home and read them carefully. Let your parents read them. Try to get a lawyer to look them over. If the recruiter refuses to give you a copy of the enlistment contract, report him to your congressman. Also talk to recently discharged veterans, especially a Vietnam veteran, your pastor, friends, and relatives for advice. Take one of them with you when you visit a recruiter. A recent congressional study found that most people in the Army today feel that recruiters misled them. Get the recruiter's promises in writing. If you enlist, any promises must be on the contract.

If you feel the military is the only place that you can be all that you can be, talk to friends and neighbors about how they got their jobs. Also talk to guidance counselors and teachers. They have connections to resources you can use. Don't forget neighborhood job counseling programs, church groups, and city and state employment agencies. Consider all your options.