Posted on 06/23/2005 2:00:10 AM PDT by lurker214
The Defense Department began working yesterday with a private marketing firm to create a database of high school students ages 16 to 18 and all college students to help the military identify potential recruits in a time of dwindling enlistment in some branches.
The program is provoking a furor among privacy advocates. The new database will include personal information including birth dates, Social Security numbers, e-mail addresses, grade-point averages, ethnicity and what subjects the students are studying.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
not right
This is new? I took the ASVAB in HS and got bombarded by the USAF and US Army every night over the phone for 2 months after. My dad finally asked them to stop calling. I tripped some trigger big-time.
A few more months of bad recruiting numbers and this is going to be more than just a data base.
The networks, libs and mothers will join forces to run them out of the country on a rail.
This generation doesn't tolerate hard work, much less the discipline it takes for drill practice. No full metal jackets for them.
BUMP
Maybe you could reconsider? If you got that level of attention before i'd bet they would still jump at the chance of you serving now with alot more experience since HS.
My son is 17, I figured we were already in some database because we get info from one branch or another of the services on a pretty regular basis.
We homeschool and they have called my son. I have no idea where they got the info for him! My son plans to serve AFTER COLLEGE. He has promised me he will finish college first.
I got rid of the last recruiter by asking him if he thought it wise to come between a son's promise and his Mama. He said "no, Ma'am" very meekly and hung up.
My son attends the Community College, and is approached by recruiters, but when they find out he's 17 they back off.
He says they've never asked for contact info, but we are definitely on somebody's list because we're getting lots of brochures and fancy packets of literature.
I don't mind, but it seems like a bit of a waste of taxpayer dollars because the mailings are frequent and the literature looks like it's expensive to produce (very nice qualilty literature.)
I didn't realize that the army and marines in Iraq and Afganistan is made up entirely of old farts like you.
My daughter starts high school next year. One of the forms she was given was the one to opt out of having her name given to recruiters. That was the first one we filled out.
Instituting a draft to make up an 8000 MAN shortfall would be easy, In truth, there would be such a stampede into the Guard/Reserves/Navy/Air Force that simply instituting the draft may result in an excess of personnel. Of course, then we could work on raising standards.
If you've ever been to a barracks at Fort Bragg, Fort Hood or Fort Lee you'd think twice about putting your daughters name on any list like that. There are worse environments for young women than an army barracks; there are not many though.
This is news to me. Would you elaborate? I've got a daughter hard set on a military future.
Sniff test?
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