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Year after year, the same foldable table is propped up near the entrance of a high school gym. People with the same uniform but different faces, all eager to tell you about a new 鈥渙pportunity,鈥� will sit idly at the table. There will be a sign in front of the table and a clipboard on top, ready to jot down any name that will take the bait being offered.

The U.S.鈥檚 鈥渁ll-volunteer military鈥� requires people, and the search for young high schoolers to fill the ranks of the armed forces is always ongoing. Further, the military tends to prioritize recruiting low-income minority kids because, as per , a U.S. Air Force veteran, 鈥淧overty is the draft.鈥�

Racial and Socioeconomic Discrepancies in Enlistment

From embedding militarism into public schools to setting up shop inside schools, the military will seemingly go to any lengths necessary to get more boots on the ground. Programs like Junior Reserve Officers鈥� Training Corps (JROTC), while not directly affiliated with recruiters, attract large enlistments from high schoolers and are introduced to students as early as freshman year. In a report by , it is estimated that more than 500,000 students are enrolled in Army training programs. Further, 56% of schools with such programs offered federal reduced or free lunch options, suggesting that they serve students near or below the poverty line.

According to the , around 64% of enlistments are of people from household incomes below $87,000, and 19% are from household incomes below $41,691. Although the CFR classifies such people as 鈥渕iddle income,鈥� many social scientists point out the increasing financial precarity of the American middle class, such as Alissa Quart鈥檚 2018 book . Such research highlights how the middle class is shrinking, making income data unreliable when assessing economic hardship. While there is a common belief that the armed forces are an 鈥渁ll-volunteer military,鈥� the data suggests that low-income students often view the military as an economic opportunity.

Study after study shows similar results. A  found that 46% of enlisted soldiers cited economic and job-related reasons for joining the military. Among those whom the study profiled was a single mother who said she joined 鈥渏ust because I had my son and I needed the benefits,鈥� or another enlistee who stated they 鈥渘eeded to make money.鈥�

So, when recruiters offer high schoolers a simply worded way out of poor economic situations鈥斺�渏oin the military so you can pay for school鈥濃�攊t is a tempting prospect.

Youth of color are also disproportionately represented among enlistees and those targeted by recruiters. A of the active duty forces in the military were people of color. Of that number, 36% were Hispanic. Through public relations , like 鈥淵o Soy El Army,鈥� that serve as government propaganda, the military portrays itself in a positive light, specifically marketed to Hispanic populations. Furthermore, many of the states with the , such as Texas, California, and Florida, are areas that neighbor the U.S.鈥揗exico border and are also, unsurprisingly, areas with predominantly Hispanic populations. 

The , blames higher wages and accessibility to more jobs for the enlistment decrease. As congressman , a Republican from Indiana, stated recently in response to President Biden鈥檚 program to forgive a portion of educational debt, 鈥淪tudent loan forgiveness undermines one of our military鈥檚 greatest recruitment tools at a time of dangerously low enlistments.鈥� In other words, if college and health care were to become affordable, enlistments would be even lower than they already are, because the 鈥済reatest recruitment tools鈥� are in fact predatory economic practices. 

In an attempt to meet its recruitment goal, . Students who fail the initial body fat and academic tests will get training on the job allowing for 鈥渦neducated鈥� youth to enlist. 

Already, Hispanic and Indigenous youth make up some of the largest percentages of high school dropouts. Further, . Their reasons include systemic issues, like the and economic hardship. These kids will now be subject to recruiting as a 鈥渨ay out鈥� of their situations.

Latino High School Students Enlist for Financial Security   

Students attending public schools across the southern border of the U.S. experience aggressive recruitment practices constantly. Luis Mendez, a senior at El Paso High School and a member of the JROTC program at his school, says he frequently sees recruiters on his campus. 鈥淎 majority of recruiters I have encountered have asked me if I ever had any major considerations on joining 鈥� mostly Army, Marines, and Navy branches,鈥� he says.

When asked about how recruiters talk to students, Mendez explains, 鈥淭hey鈥檒l show you what each branch offers, the different opportunities one can reach, and the different jobs they offer, with benefits to each specified job.鈥� Mendez is aware of the health care and college benefits and believes they are incentives to recruit students, saying, 鈥淎 majority of recruiters commonly use this as a subject to inform or persuade students.鈥� 

Mendez also says that despite being a first-generation Mexican American, he was 鈥渢aught that [as] an American citizen, [he] must answer to the country鈥檚 calling if the need arises.鈥� 

Joseph Correa, a student at Eastwood High School, cites that he is from a low-income family and says, 鈥淚 have considered joining the military to serve the United States and [for] the college [and] health care benefits.鈥� 

Similarly, Brandon Hernandez, a recent high school graduate, believes the military will 鈥渉elp me while I get back on my feet.鈥� Facing few other options, Hernandez feels that joining the military was his best bet, saying, 鈥淢aybe [in the future] I can study for another career while I鈥檓 in any branch.鈥� He also adds that the military will provide him with benefits that other institutions don鈥檛 offer, such as free college education. 鈥淚t is the best option for me, because I get to go to college and get it paid; I will have good money and benefits [from] the start.鈥�

Counter-Recruitment Organizations Speak Out

There are numerous organizations working on demilitarization鈥攖he abolition of military forces and war. A main component of demilitarization is countering the recruitment of young people in schools. 

(SOY) is an Austin-based network of veterans and community members that promotes peace in schools. Through interactive real-life games, like allocating taxpayer money to life after the military, students get a holistic understanding of what they may be in for if they join the military.

Another organization, the (NNOMY), is a nationwide outreach program that aims to counter military recruitment in public schools. The group鈥檚 website offers an analysis of race- and class-based recruitment and assesses the harms of militarization.

From providing alternative peace-centered careers to advocating for an end to weapons training in high schools, NNOMY believes taking recruiters out of schools is vital to divesting from wars. 鈥淭he Pentagon is taking over our poorer public schools. This is the new reality for our disadvantaged youth,鈥� says the group. The organization has also put together a  for students facing aggressive recruiting and how to organize against it.

The kit includes informational videos from veterans; links to national campaigns, such as 鈥溾��; hotline cards; and more. Issue-based sections, like JROTC, gender, and the military, and privacy protections, make the kit easy to navigate and a must-have for those who want to get involved in countering recruitment and demilitarizing.

Everyone can play a role in counter-recruitment efforts: Students, teachers, counselors, parents, and organizers can contribute to the movement by protecting students鈥� privacy, learning how to opt out from recruitment databases, organizing against shooting ranges, exposing funding gaps in education, investigating JROTC, starting counter-recruitment chapters locally, and more.