Washington Truth in Recruiting (WaTiR) began as a small group meeting in the greater Seattle area to organize counter-recruitment actions in 2003. The group included members of Veterans for Peace and other organizations opposed to the Iraq war. Four had teenage children or grandchildren at risk for recruiter contact and intrusion of privacy rights. An opt-out campaign at four high schools was the first planned activity.
One of the founding members was a mother whose son was recruited in high school without her knowledge. He was encouraged to drop out of school and get his GED. Her 17-year-old son arrived on the doorstep one afternoon with an Army recruiter demanding that she sign paperwork for him to enlist. She refused; however, when he turned 18, he enlisted on his own. She later learned that the recruiter had regularly taken her son off campus during school hours for pizza. Following boot camp, he was immediately ordered to Iraq. He returned emotionally and mentally wounded.
We meet every two or three months via conference call, with face-to-face meetings about twice a year. WaTiR is not a membership organization but consists of people who are willing to do counter-recruitment work in their own communities and actively represent WaTiR in statewide conferences for principals, superintendents, school board members, PTA members, and counselors. Counter-recruitment activists directly associated with WaTiR are now working in many parts of the state. Outreach efforts have been possible through donations from individuals, peace groups, and several churches as well as grants from A.J. Muste, AFSC, Quaker meetings in the greater Seattle area, and RESIST. There is no physical office or any paid staff. We are proud to have been able to accomplish a lot with minimal financial resources.
During the past year, WaTiR has:
- Developed brochures specifically for Washington principals and distributed them at WaTiR exhibit table for school principals attending the statewide conference in Yakima
- Exhibited at statewide Washington School Directors conference in Seattle in November. Materials include an updated brochure for School Directors and model school board policies.
- Exhibited and talked with delegates at the Washington State Democratic Convention in Vancouver in June
- Exhibited at the NW Teachers for Social Justice Conference in Tacoma last year and will be giving a workshop and exhibiting this year in conjunction with Recruiter Watch in Portland, Ore.
- Provided resources and advice to activists in many communities throughout Washington
- Contacted Washington Boards of Education to support career counselors whose jobs were threatened by budget cuts
- Working with Washington Coalition for Student Privacy to address the ASVAB testing policies in districts throughout the state. Assisting in the development of legislation to address this issue.
- Gave presentations at the National Lawyers Guild Conference in Seattle and a meeting of the Seattle College and Career Center Specialists
- Gave a workshop presentation for the Washington State PTA
- Sponsored movie night with counterrecruiting film and panel at Seattle neighborhood gathering
- Spoke at Seattle School Board on behalf of career counselors
- Gave a presentation at Organized and participated in a counter-recruitment panel at a Seattle Martin Luther King, Jr., Day celebration
- Organized a panel presentation at the GLBT Conference in Seattle
- Participated and presented at the International 2010 War and Global Health Conference at the University of Washington
WaTiR will continue to attend local, regional, and statewide conferences attended by people influencing secondary students and their futures.
—Marion Ward
Contact Washington Truth in Recruiting:
www.watir.org
info [at] watir.org (info [at] watir.org)
