Program to counter military recruiting falls on Memorial Day weekend
By Patrick Jean, Staff Writer, May 23, 2008
The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship “in no way intended to dishonor” American military service when it scheduled a program to counter military recruiting on Memorial Day weekend, its executive director says.
“Actually, the significance of the timing was just that it was a long weekend when I thought I could get more participation,” Rick Ufford-Chase told The Layman.
The program, titled “Resisting Militarism,” begins today at Ghost Ranch, a Presbyterian Church (USA) education and conference center in Abiquiu and Santa Fe, N.M. The Abiquiu site will host the program, which ends on Memorial Day, May 26.
The Web site for “Resisting Militarism” states the program is for people ages 14 to 20 “who are interested in countering the military recruitment efforts on their high school and college campuses.” “This program is basically just a small-strategy conversation of how we can have a faith-based strategy for creating alternatives on high school and college campuses to military recruitment,” said Ufford-Chase, who is a former moderator of the PCUSA General Assembly.
That the program falls on Memorial Day –a federal holiday commemorating men and women who have died in military service to the United States – is coincidental, Ufford-Chase said. “It really was intended simply to capture a moment as students were coming to the end of the school year, when we could gather a four-day weekend to get them all in one place.”
Ufford-Chase said, “This is in no way intended to dishonor the valuable service and the great service that has been offered by so many people, Presbyterians and others, who have served in the armed forces, but to create alternatives for students who may not know that there are other, non-military options for living out a life of service to the Church. I understand that there’s some conversation going on out there, but no one’s called me about it.”
The program, which is free except for the cost of travel to and from Albuquerque, includes camping, hiking, whitewater rafting and outdoor leadership skill-building. The program is for up to 14 people; about 11 participants are expected.
A military spokesman, Army Lt. Col. Jonathan Withington, did not answer questions from The Layman about the timing of “Resisting Militarism.” However, he did issue the following statement regarding military recruitment on high school and college campuses:
“It is important for recruiters to be able to inform today’s youth, either on or off campus, of the many benefits of serving in today’s military. While the military may not be for everyone, it does provide many of our youth a great opportunity to further their education, gain a marketable skill, become independent and serve their country.
“Recruiters are trained to abide by strict standards of conduct and are informed of the roles and responsibilities of recruiters, which prohibit the use of coercive measures or deception. In addition, recruiters are expected to remain professional at all times and should prevent any appearance of recruiter impropriety in the recruiting process.
“The law only requires schools to provide the name, address and telephone numbers of their junior and senior students. By law, local school administrators are required to notify the parents of their right to have their son’s or daughter’s information withheld. Either the parent, or student, may sign an ‘opt-out’ form which prevents schools from releasing their information. We believe the law does protect the privacy of students while providing them an opportunity to learn more about the many benefits of serving in today’s military.”