Teachers oppose Army 'Misleading Propaganda' in schools

[Grumpmeister]

I'm sorry, but given the amount of coverage on Iraq and Afghanistan in the media just how in the hell are the army using misleading propaganga to entice shcool leavers into their ranks? If they have no idea that if you are in the army then there is a good chance you could be sent to a warzone where someone is going to be taking potshots at you then how is that the fault of the army?

Teachers have voted to oppose military recruitment activities in schools if they employ "misleading propaganda".
Young people must be given a true picture of Army life, not a "marketised version", the National Union of Teachers conference heard.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) denies actively recruiting in schools but says it does visit to raise awareness when invited in by head teachers.

Some teachers complain the Army uses sophisticated methods of recruitment.

Paul McGarr, a teacher from east London, said only when recruiting materials gave a true picture of war would he welcome them into his school.

'Shoot and possibly torture'

These would have to say: "Join the Army and we will send you to carry out the imperialist occupation of other people's countries," Mr McGarr said.

"Join the Army and we will send you to bomb, shoot and possibly torture fellow human beings in other countries.

"Join the Army and we will send you probably poorly equipped into situations where people will try to shoot or kill you because you are occupying other people's countries.

"Join the Army, and if you survive and come home, possibly injured or mentally damaged, you and your family will be shabbily treated."

Delegate from Lambeth, south London, Chris Kelly, said he was offered free teaching materials, which he only later discovered were from the MoD.

"We must also ask ourselves why the MoD are in there influencing the way our students view the Army in the 21st Century.

"They find it difficult to recruit into the armed forces and are trying to encouraging them to join up," he said.

Decision

Executive member Martin Reed said young people should have the means to make an informed choice when deciding whether or not to sign up for an Army career.

He gave the example of school careers service Connexions which warned on its website that young people should not make this decision lightly.

It warned that war could be dangerous and that there were humanitarian casualties, he said.

Another teacher, Stefan Simms, from Ealing, west London, said those that were recruited would "come back knowing the horrors of war, maybe having committed the horrors of war."

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: "We do not recruit in schools.

"The single-service schools teams visit about 1,000 schools a year between them only at the invitation of the school - with the aim of raising the general awareness of their armed forces in society, not to recruit."

But some teachers argue these visits have a wider purpose.

'Patronising'

The NUT will now convene a summit of teachers, educationalists and others to consider the issue of military recruitment in schools.

Teachers who opposed recruitment activities based on "misleading propaganda" would be supported.

An ex-soldier, Terry, told BBC Radio Five Live that the union's attitude was patronising to 16-year-olds.

"Now 16-year-olds are not kids - they know, they know their mind," he said.

"If they are not sure what they want to do and they are just tinkering with the idea of just going in the Army - nowadays they can go in the Army, they go on a six-week camp and they find out what it's like.

"If its not for them, they have the choice to leave."

[Snoopy]

It's a headline a day whilst their conference is on. Take no notice and they'll p*ss off until next year.

[Grumpmeister]

The thing that gets me is that when I was in school we covered WW1, WW2, Vietnam and the Korean war in 20th Century history and we knew by the end of it that war was hell. But even if we didnt pay attention to the lessons look at modern war films, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Blackhawk Down they havent pulled any punches either so I can't see any way that the average 16 year old is going to join the army without having a pretty good idea of whats likely to be involved in their tour.

[Snoopy]

Teachers "Leaders" know nothing except how to spout propaganda and get headlines in an otherwise relatively newsfree weekend. Ignore them .... like daffodils, they only come out in the spring and they soon die off to reappear next year.

[grumpyoldsoldier]

This is the same mob that wants the Koran taught in school, anything to appease the muslims I suppose

[The Moan Ranger]

If any child is so stupid as to not realise the potential full horrors of life in the forces, then they should not be allowed in, in the first instance. I, for one, would not want such a muppet in charge of any weaponry, or watching my back in a tricky situation. We are breeding a nation of morons, nurtured by leather-elbowed lentil Guarianistas. Bastards.

[Just One More]

And then when you do serve for your country, this happens:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7313541.stm

A soldier from the Commonwealth who served more than four years in the British Army, including two tours in Iraq, has been told he can't become a British citizen because he applied on the wrong date.

 
Rogers Jean-Baptiste served two tours in Iraq
Rogers Jean-Baptiste was born in St Lucia. He made his application this January, but was told by the Home Office that because on the same date five years earlier he was outside the UK he didn't qualify.

At that time he was actually serving on a British base in Germany.

"The adventure, the thrill...I looked forward to wearing my uniform, wearing it with pride," he said.

Rogers Jean-Baptiste knew exactly why he wanted to join the British army.

He has trophies for athletics and orienteering in his small room. "Exemplary" is the single word written on his discharge certificate.

'Gob smacked'

He joined the British army in 2002 and the following year was sent abroad. He completed a tour of Iraq and then volunteered to go back again.

He said: "The highlight of the tour....on election day in Basra city. Mortars were raining down...we had trained for it day in and day out.

"When you get out there you just do the job."

He became a Lance Corporal, left the service in 2006 and became a police community support officer. Recently he was injured trying to detain a suspected robber.

On 17 January this year thinking he met relevant criteria, he applied to become a British citizen. He was turned down.

 
Rogers Jean-Baptiste is now a police community support officer

"I felt insulted. I felt humiliated, I was gob smacked," he said.

The Home Office said to qualify he had to have been present in the UK on the same date five years earlier.

On 17 January 2003, he'd been in the army for more than six months, but on the same day he was posted to Germany.

He was in British uniform but not on British soil.

Mr Jean Baptiste says he feels betrayed by the government.

"If I had died in battle. The politicians would have told my family, "he was a hero".

"But here I am, I'm alive, I'm trying to help myself and I'm being turned down. That is blatant hypocrisy."

Exercise discretion

The Home Office disagrees.

It points out that he does have indefinite leave to remain, so can live and work here until he's able to apply again in 2011.

An official said "We do exercise discretion for members of the armed forces who have spent time outside the UK.

"But the law remains that applicants need to have been in the country at the beginning of their qualifying period for citizenship."

But Mr Jean Baptiste says without a British passport he can't travel freely outside the UK.

More than this the refusal is, in his words, "a slap in the face".

"It's a waste of my time and of everything I fought for," he says. "It's a betrayal".

The official that is quoted and his managers should hang their heads in shame. I bet there's not one of them that would have done what this soldier did. Fecking jobsworths  

[Uncle Mort]

He didn't join the army to serve his country ~ he's not British. He joined for the adventure, the thrill and probably never thought he would get shot at.

He's just using his service record because he made a mistake on his application.