Because I am a terrible spoil-sport, that's why

[james_davis_nicoll]

The US is _not_ signing 14 year olds up for military service.

Like the Dan Quayle comment about wishing he'd known Latin when he visited Latin America, it never happened: Quayle never said that (Claudine Schneider attributed it to him as a joke) and the US insists on a minimum age of, I believe, 16 (After all, it's handy if they can legally drive) and the US military has yet to exploit the young adult market. The hoax just sounds plausible, given the people involved.

Mind you, now that the idea is out there, maybe the Republicans will adopt it.

Comments

[krfsm.livejournal.com]

... and the US military has yet to exploit the young adult market.

Except for America's Army, of course.

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

Actually the minimum sign-up age is seventeen, with parental permission.

Doonsbury is running a story now about Mike's daughter signing up for the US Army. Needless to say he and his wife are appalled.

DOONESBURY

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

I've been reading that. I'm curious to see if Mike sends her to talk to BD about the idea. Of course, given that BD's experiences in Viet Nam led him to sign up for two more shooting wars, I wouldn't be too surprised if he said "These are the risks and this is what serving cost me but I still think it was worth it."

Re: DOONESBURY

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

I've been waiting for that to happen myself. My bet is that B.D. gives her the talk you described, and she signs up. With B.D. out of Iraq, Trudeau is going to need to slip another character in to get an Army level view of what's happening.

Re: DOONESBURY

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

There's always the Redfern kid, now that his career in the CIA is over (It's over, isn't it?). BD's kid is still a little too young. Or Zonker's nephew, whatshisname.

How old is BD, anyway? I know Trudeau de-aged people a little in the Sabbatical but aren't the original cohort all at least 50?

[del-c.livejournal.com]

But you can join a pre-enlistment program before that age. This article says that Kyle Crowley signed up at 16 against his father's wishes; it doesn't say whether his mother (the parents were separated and he lived with his father) had to have agreed.

Pfc. Crowley was 18 just over a year ago when he was killed with nine other members of his company after they came under fire in an ambush in Ramadi.

[oystergal.livejournal.com]

Minimum age of 17 plus parental consent to sign the actual contract, but you can join JROTC at 15 with no legally binding commitment. However, the joke reads so very much like real articles that have been published in the last week or so that it's frighteningly plausible.

This article from the LA Times, for instance.

The "prepaid enlistment" fooled people I know who, much as they hated Bill Clinton, would have been immediately skeptical of any report that his administration was even considering such a thing. I'm hoping it's a sign that BushCo has spent too much of their credibility.

[ritaxis.livejournal.com]

They aren't signing up fourteen year-olds, but I would guess that the spoof was inspired by what the military does do that is aimed at the very young: everything from deceptive television advertisements to adventure games online and military-sponsored free junk for schools ("career preparation" materials, etc).

When I was subsititute teaching at a continuation school, I had a student who dyed and curled his hair, wore jewelry and makeup, and said he wanted to be a fashion designer. I was gone for a month and when I came back he was wearing white shirts and ties and was talking about the elaborate promises "his" recruiter was making (the recruiters home in on specific kids and follow them around until they catch them). But he still wore makeup and dished with the girls . . . he had made the commitment, had signed papers, and he would be going into the Navy as soon as he graduated.

I just hope he's still alive and I'd like to give the recruiter a piece of my mind. What the hell did he think was going to happen to a boy like that in the Navy?

[(Anonymous)]

"I just hope he's still alive and I'd like to give the recruiter a piece of my mind."

You may want to look at http://icasualties.org/oif/, and the equivalent page for Operation Enduring Freedom. There are very few Navy casualties with hometowns in California, and those seem to be too old to be your student.

Gareth Wilson