Understand that:
1) You will have to keep your own copies any paperwork as we describe it below.
2) These procedures are effective only with a volunteer military, i.e., no draft.
3) There are no less than three (3) opt-out processes
(also described in this article in the Sep-Oct, '09 issue of Mother Jones, in a .pdf file) comprising...

Go to Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)
Go to School Notification (from the No Child Left Behind Act)
Go to The Joint Advertising, Marketing Research & Studies (JAMRS)
Go to What if the draft is re-instated?

Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)

According to http://www.asvabprogram.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=overview.program (a website which, by the way, has no mention of any way to opt out of the results being provided to military recruiters :-) "The ASVAB Career Exploration Program is a comprehensive career exploration and planning program that includes a multiple aptitude test battery, an interest inventory, and various career planning tools designed to help students explore the world of work.

"The ASVAB Career Exploration Program is intended for use with students in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades, as well as students in post-secondary schools. The Program provides tools, including the test battery and interest inventory, developed by the Department of Defense to help high school and post-secondary students across the nation learn more about career exploration and planning. Results of the aptitude test and the interest inventory enable students to evaluate their skills, estimate performance in academic and vocational endeavors, and identify potentially satisfying careers. These results are integrated with work values to help students identify and prioritize possible career choices. Students are encouraged to consider their own work-related values and other important personal preferences as they explore the world of work and learn career exploration skills that will benefit them throughout their work lives."

While a student that has no real idea of his/her strengths or weaknesses and his or her school wouldn't be able to afford a better test battery, the ASVAB might sound like a good solution. However, it must be pointed out that this test battery is designed primarily for military service occupations and, far more importantly, the main purpose is to provide recruiters with valuable information to target those youth that take the ASVAB. In fact, United States Army Recruiting Command Regulation 601-59 requires recruiters to be present during testing and serve as "test proctors"!!!

The website http://todaysmilitary.com/before-serving/asvab-test?=gasvab openly states: "With thousands of different jobs for enlisted personnel and officers, there's a lot to do in the Military. The ASVAB Career Exploration Program can help young adults identify and explore potentially satisfying occupations and develop effective strategies to realize career goals." However, no correlation has ever been established between ASVAB testing scores and civilian career skills. After carefully examining the ASVAB, a US Congressperson said, “The ASVAB testing program has no proven value to anyone except the Armed Forces."

To review a text version of the Oregon schools that administer the ASVAB for the 2006-2007 school year, click here.

To review a text version of just the Rogue Valley, OR, schools that administer the ASVAB for the 2006-2007 school year, click here.

So, what can you or your child do to keep these test scores from being released to military recruiters? Individually, there is nothing you can do, because the school where the test is administered establishes the reporting policy back to DoD and the military recruiters from a list of eight (8) options. Only "Option 8" precludes these results from being released to the recruiters. Some schools schools in Oregon require all students in certain grades to take these tests and they report everything to the recruiters (and many people consider this practice to be a violation of our 1st Amendment rights). Other schools, depending upon parent pressures, even provide two test times and/or places, one with and one without recruiter notification. Still other schools (a growing number, also because of the agressiveness of many military recruiters) don't allow ASVAB testing at all.

Of course, we would also advise taking advantage of the next two opt-out approaches, as well, and spreading the word to all the parents and children you know. Educate them about the ASVAB’s real purpose.

Here is a good article on the growing awareness of the ASVAB testing program.

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School Notification (from the No Child Left Behind Act)'

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 requires high schools to release personal data on their students to military recruiters unless written notice is given to the schoolto withhold that information. If a student, parent, or guardian fails to give written notice to withhold contact information, military recruiters will, at a minimum, be given the student’s: name, home address, and telephone number, irrespective of gender. Recruiters also have the right to demand that the school furnish cell-phone numbers and student e-mail addresses. Other information, such as participation in sports or extracurricular activities may also be demanded. In the experience of some veterans, this helps recruiters “tailor” their approach to the particular student and also targets candidates who are more likely to enlist.

Students, parents, or guardians must act promptly. The Act further requires the school to furnish contact information to the military on each student soon after the start of the school year. The only way to prevent military recruiters from getting personal contact information on a student is by providing written notice to the school, immediately after the start of the school year, that you “Opt Out”!

Don’t wait until the school notifies you! Act immediately to “Opt Out” at the beginning of the school year. If you choose to “Opt Out” don’t wait for the school to notify you! If a student is already in high school and has not opted out yet, DO SO NOW! If recruiters don’t have the student’s contact information this will prevent them from getting it. Recruiters will focus their efforts on the students closest to enlistment age (17 years and older) and those they deem to be the “best candidates” for enlistment.

To aid you in this effort, you can use this “Opt Out” form. Make a copy of the form for each high school student. Complete the form and make a copy for your records. Mail or take the completed form to each student’s school. While this form stipulates that the privacy directive is valid for the entire time each student is enrolled at the school, it is advisable, and may be necessary, to complete a new “Opt Out” form at the beginning of each school year.

Students, you can also do this yourself. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act specifically allows you to “Opt Out” on your own, regardless of age, with or without your parent’s/guardian’s consent or knowledge. If you encounter resistance from your school’s administration, refer them to Section 9528(a)(2) of Public Law 107-110 (the NCLB Act) which deals with “CONSENT” (reproduced on the bottom of our “Opt Out” form. Furthermore, the right of a student to “Opt Out” has been acknowledged by the US Department of Education (Family Policy Compliance Office).

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The Joint Advertising, Marketing Research & Studies (JAMRS)'

This database is very little known and virtually never addressed, unless you at least knew the acronym for it.

In May 2005, the Department of Defense (DOD) announced that it was going to create a massive database for recruiting. The DOD's "Joint Advertising and Market Research" system proposed to combine student information, Social Security Numbers (SSN), and information from state motor vehicle repositories into a mega database housed at a private direct marketing firm. Approximately 25 million individuals' information would be in the database, and there is no way to opt out. In June 2005, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and 8 privacy and consumer groups objected to the creation of the database, arguing that it violated the Privacy Act and was unnecessarily invasive.

In reaction to these comments and significant media attention, DOD held a media roundtable in June 2005 where the agency admitted that it had already created the database. This is a clear violation of the Privacy Act, which requires federal agencies to announce and seek public comment on systems of personal information before they are created. Much more information about this database, none of it good, can be found at this website.

The database contains:

Full name, date of birth, gender, address, city, state, zip code, and where available Social Security Number (SSN), e-mail address, ethnicity, telephone number, high school name, graduation date, Grade Point Average (GPA) code, education level, college intent (if documented), military interest (if documented), field of study, current college attending, ASVAB Test date, ASVAB Armed Forces Qualifying Test Category Score.

This information is collected from:

Individuals; state Department of Motor Vehicle offices; commercial information brokers/vendors; Selective Service System; Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC); United States Military Entrance Processing Command for individuals who have taken the ASVAB test; and the Military services and Congressional offices for individuals who have asked to be removed from any future recruitment lists.

Those looking to have their names removed from the survey database contained in this system of records should address written opt-out requests to (per the DoD website JAMRS opt-out).:

The Joint Advertising, Marketing Research & Studies (JAMRS)
Survey Project Officer
4040 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite #200
Arlington, Virginia 22203–1613

Requests must contain the full name, date of birth, and current address of the individual. An example of such a letter can be found here (in .pdf format), but, since some parents state they have received word from the DoD that it would take a year to accomplish this for any one person, this opt-out should be accomplished as soon as their child is at the minimum age for database insertion (15½ years old). Opt-Out requests will be honored until the individual is no longer eligible for recruitment. However, because opt-out screening is based, in part, on the current address of the individual, any change in address will require the submission of a new opt-out request with the new address.

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What if the draft were re-instated?

Because of the effectiveness of operations such as ours and the problems the military has in enlisting personnel during good economic times (translated: low unemployment), there is some talk of a re-instatement of the draft. If this were to be a universal draft for universal service, there might be some national benefit in that. However, if draftees could be targeted toward military service (almost a certainty), we would be ready to provide whatever assistance we could in helping our youth apply for conscientious objector status.

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