Is it time to choose your own adventure

Transcription

1 ? Need a job? Looking for an exciting career? Want to do something meaningful with your life? Trying to find money for college? Is it time to choose your own adventure?

2 Check it out! say the recruiters from the Canadian Forces. They offer an exciting adventure! Plus Guaranteed job with benefits Opportunity to travel the world Exciting skills and challenges Money to pay for school Over 100 different jobs What will you do? If you want to join the military, go to page 4 If you don t want to join the military, go to page 10 If you re not sure what you want to do, go to page 3 2

3 Duty War Peace Security Sacrifice Freedom Pacifism Before moving ahead with your decision, ask yourself these questions: Have your friends also thought about these issues? What do they think? Did your parents also have to make this kind of decision? What did they do? Why do you think military recruiters succeed at attracting people? What do you hear in the media about the war in Afghanistan? What s accurate or not accurate? If you are a member of a religious tradition, what does your faith have to say about war and the pursuit of peace? What is your conscience telling you? If you want to join the military, go to page 4 If you don t want to join the military, go to page 10 If you re still not sure, go for a long walk 3

4 five things to think about before you enlist 1. Is the offer as good as it looks? Military recruiters are essentially salespeople who only talk up the positive stuff. They probably won t tell you that 36 Canadian soldiers committed suicide in They probably won t tell you that up to 20% of Canadian soldiers suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder after returning from places like Afghanistan. 2 Others return home with significant hearing loss. 2. Have you talked to some veterans and listened to their stories about war? When people buy a car or a major appliance, they read several consumer reports in order to get the real deal. In the same way, you can talk with several war veterans to hear stories about what being in the military is really like. 1 Amber Hildebrandt, CBC News, April 19, Special Report from the Canadian Forces Ombudsman, February 2002, Systemic Treatment of CF Members with PTSD 4

5 3. Is this just another job? Canadian Forces recruitment centres are organized like employment offices everything is set up to make military jobs look just like any other jobs with pay, benefits, and job descriptions. However, being a soldier is not a regular job. Following orders to kill is not a normal human activity. And contrary to the Canadian Forces promotional materials, many key components of military training are not useful in civilian jobs. 4. Do you think the military is effective? The fact that there are always winners and losers in war means that violence is not necessarily effective. Even socalled successful wars tend to breed more war and violent conflict this is sometimes called the spiral of violence. Many political scientists and diplomats now agree that there is rarely, if ever, a military solution to conflict. 5. Are you willing to kill and be killed? In 2005 the Chief of Defence Staff said, The job of the Canadian Forces is to be able to kill people. Obviously, there s more to being in the military than killing people, but a basic part of military training is to overcome the natural aversion to take someone else s life. In the military you are expected to inflict harm and to put yourself in harm s way on command. 5

6 five more things to think about 6. How do you explain your desire to join the military? In our society, some people rely on simplistic statements like, We need to support our troops or We have to fight terrorism or We have to defend our freedom. If someone pushed you to explain why joining the military is a good idea, what would you say? What gives you confidence that this is a good decision? 7. What if you join the military and later want to get out? After joining the military, some people realize that they are morally opposed to a particular war (or to war in general), and they choose to exit the military as conscientious objectors (COs). Some choose to leave the military for other reasons. Find out what your options are if things change and you want to quit early for some reason. 8. Are you ready to follow orders? Military recruiters offer a life of adventure, but they don t tell you that the adventure will not be yours to choose. Others will decide where you will go, what you will do, when to start killing, and when to stop killing. Of course, the vast majority of people in the military are well-meaning, but the system requires them to follow orders and tow the party line. Even if you disagree with an order, you are still expected to follow it. 6

7 9. What is the military not telling you? Especially in wartime, the military tends to provide only part of the picture. For example, many positive reports are given about the progress being made by the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan, but the reality is that security in Afghanistan is breaking down, civilians are getting killed, and the military is often hindering its own goals by trying to do combat operations and aid operations at the same time. This may be part of the reason why almost 600 Canadian soldiers go AWOL every year What are your hopes and fears about joining the military? Take the time to clearly identify some specific things that you look forward to, and some specific things that frighten you about life in the military. If you are a person of faith, spend some time in prayer about these things. Discuss your feelings with a trusted friend, family member, mentor, or faith leader Annual Report of the Judge Advocate General to the Ministry of National Defence, page

8 Counter recruitment? Did you know that there is a growing movement of groups in Canada that try to stop or at least limit military recruitment? These counter-recruiters ask questions such as: 1. What s with military recruiters succeeding best in areas where people are dealing with higher unemployment? 2. What s with high schools working together with the Canadian Forces to offer co-operative education programs where students gain academic credit and pay for doing some basic military training? 3. What s with the Canadian Forces setting up at public events and inviting young children to try out weapons and military vehicles? (see photo below) 4. What s with the military receiving so much attention on TV, at sporting events, and in parades? 5. What s with bumper stickers that say, If you don t stand behind our troops, feel free to stand in front of them? In addition to asking questions and resisting military recruitment, some of these groups emphasize positive peacemaking alternatives. To learn more, visit operationobjection.org 8

9 If you still plan to join the military 1. Don t rely only on the recruiter for information also talk with friends, family, guidance counselor, mentor, or faith leader. 2. Take a witness with you when you speak with a recruiter. Ask this person to take notes for you. 3. Get promises in writing. 4. Never give false information or cover up anything. 5. Don t sign anything without first taking it home and looking it over carefully. Show it to a parent, teacher, or trusted person. 6. Get copies of everything you sign. 7. Send us an indicating whether or not this flyer was helpful as you made your decision to join. 9

10 Want a taste of adventure? EXPLORE your options! Find yourself (figuratively) while clinging to a vertical rock face. Learn the skills of mountaineering and rock climbing. Check out themountainschool.com Live with a team of eight Canadians and eight people from another country. Learn about the environment, community development, or global economics. Learn about yourself. Check out Canada World Youth at cwyjcm.org/en. Learn a trade and find satisfaction in your new-found skills. Visit the Canada Trade Schools Directory at trade-school.ca. Get some dirt under your fingers. Travel the world and work on organic farms. Check out World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms wwoof.ca. Surround yourself with whales, seals, and porpoises no joke! Check out the program called Marine Mammal Adventure at academictreks.com/programs/pwt.asp Be a volunteer for the cause of economic justice, international development, or peacemaking from a faith perspective. Ask the leaders of your faith community for information about service opportunities. Get trained in nonviolence and then work in areas of conflict to promote human rights and peacebuilding. Check out Peace Brigades International at peacebrigades.org 10

11 Hope to make a difference? GO for it! Enroll in an academic program that features hands-on learning alongside of book learning. Be in love. And then be in LOVE (Leave Out ViolencE), a Canada-wide, youth-led organization that works to prevent violence at the local level. Check out leaveoutviolence.com Become an intern and learn from some of Canada s most experienced environmentalists. Work for environmental sustainability. Check out Sierra Club at sierraclub.ca Share your time with a young person and help them to gain confidence and skills. Check out Big Brothers Big Sisters at bbbsc.ca Learn how to build your own guitar. Check out opportunities in Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia at timelessinstruments.com or rizsanyiguitars.com Work as a paid intern in the Government of Canada. Positions available in the fields of environment, agriculture, arts, and more. Check out youth.gc.ca. or the Youth Zone of acdi-cida.gc.ca These organizations are listed as a way of offering ideas only. MCC does not necessarily endorse the content of the organizations websites or the activities of the organizations in general. 11

12 The Canadian Forces wants you to fight fear, fight chaos, fight distress. What if the Canadian Forces creates fear, chaos, and distress for others? For you? What if life in the military is not what it s cracked up to be? What if there s a different life of adventure waiting for you? Contact us and let us know what you re thinking. This flyer is a project of Mennonite Central Committee Ontario in partnership with Mennonite Central Committee Canada. For more information: MCCO Peace Animator peaceanimator@mennonitecc.on.ca mcc.org/ontario/peaceeducation MCCC Peace peace@mennonitecc.ca Mennonite Central Committee Ontario 12