Articles

From Military Aspirations to Leadership Roles: The Impact of the Minuteman Scholarship

NOTE: NNOMY's posting of the article about the U.S. Army Reserve's "Minuteman Campaign," ironically featuring a young woman, is for informational purposes only to the counter-recruitment community and not an endorsement of the program.


August 20, 2024 / Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Oposnow / U.S. Army - The U.S. Army Reserve's Minuteman Scholarship has become a significant tool in recruiting and developing future military leaders. Two individuals deeply involved in this initiative, Jordyn Hoit, an ROTC cadet, and James Bernet, an Army Reserve Ambassador from Nevada, offer insight into how the scholarship shapes the lives of recipients and the broader community.

Jordyn Hoit, who grew up in Escondido, California, began considering her future as early as middle school. She initially aimed to attend a military academy like West Point but later decided that a traditional college experience was a better fit for her. This decision was influenced by her desire for independence and a more conventional college life, something she felt was not fully available at a service academy.

After scoring well on the ASVAB, Hoit was introduced to the Minuteman Scholarship by her recruiter who connected her with James Bernet. The scholarship was officially presented to her during a high school football game in Escondido, marking a significant milestone in her educational and military journey.

The Minuteman Scholarship provides full tuition or room and board, a monthly stipend, and the opportunity to serve as a commissioned officer in the Army Reserve. For Hoit, it allowed her to pursue her educational goals while maintaining a commitment to military service. She just completed her first year at Hofstra University, where she is majoring in criminology. Post-graduation, she plans to join the FBI, a career path where military and law enforcement experience is highly valued.

Pacifist Organizations that Promoted Counter-recruitment

10/08/2024 / NNOMY.ORG - Internationally, pacifist groups have fostered activism through education or direct action against war and advocated for peace. Some of these groups have participated actively or tangentially in counter-recruitment activism with youth in their communities either inside religious, community,  or school settings.

Below is a survey of pacifist groups that were asked if they had any involvement with counter-recruitment activism in their outreach.

Though the search is “first world and English-Centric,” there are few exceptions and this list in not conclusive of all the type of counter-recruitment activism that has gone on in this world.

The information below was sourced utilizing MSN Copilot AI asking “What have been the organizations name counter-recruitment efforts? The listings below indicate whether the organization was  “Not directly” or Actively involved”  in counter-recruitment activism.

Featured

America isn’t ready for another war — because it doesn’t have the troops

The US military’s recruiting crisis, explained.

US Army recruits in training. The American military is struggling to find enough new troops to fill its ranks. Scott OlsonSep 1, 2024 / Gil Barndollar and Matthew C. Mai / Vox - Coverage of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza is mostly dominated by talk of weapons. Reporters and analysts focus on suicide drones, on shell deficits, on targeting algorithms. But for all the attention devoted to modern weapons and munitions, both conflicts are proving that modern war still comes down to people.

In Ukraine, battlefield deaths on both sides were estimated to number more than 200,000 by the fall of 2023. Though US weapons and munitions have been critical to Kyiv’s war effort, it was territorial militias and hastily trained citizen-soldiers who helped save Ukraine from total conquest in 2022.

At the same time, it was a partial mobilization of more than 300,000 troops that stabilized Russia’s lines and prevented a potential collapse in late 2022. Today, the war has settled into an attritional slugfest, with both sides desperate to keep the flow of new recruits going, to the point where ranks have opened to older menwomen, and convicts.

The situation is much the same in the Middle East. On October 7, Israel’s heavily automated Gaza perimeter was breached by well-trained but low-tech Hamas terrorists. The attack was eventually repulsed by conscript soldiers and armed volunteers — even in the “start-up nation” that prides itself on its technological prowess, security depends first and foremost on people. Similar to the Russian mobilization before the invasion of Ukraine, the immediate calling up of 360,000 reservists enabled Israel to conduct its campaign against Hamas and deter other non-state foes in the West Bank and Lebanon.

NNOMY is Funded by

 

Gonate time or money to demilitarize our public schools

FAIR USE NOTICE

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of issues connected with militarism and resistance. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Contact NNOMY

NNOMY

The National Network Opposing

the Militarization of youth
San Diego Peace Campus

3850 Westgate Place
San Diego, California 92105 U.S.A.
admin@nnomy.org  +1 619 798 8335
Tuesdays & Thursdays 12 Noon till 5pm PST
Skype: nnomy.demilitarization

Mobile Menu