Each year, high school students across the country see uniformed members of the armed forces within school walls offering information on how to join up. But a local organization asks the question whether these soldiers are overselling a dangerous career path to an audience whose brains are still developing.
The Resistance Center for Peace and Justice, a Northampton nonprofit, has published three editions of a report called “Military Recruitment in Western Massachusetts High Schools,” which authors claim to be the first record of military recruitment activity in the region’s schools. Authors accuse recruiters of emphasizing financial and travel incentives while downplaying the risks of psychological disorders, job insecurity, and sexual trauma.
