GI Joe Goes Digital

by Rachel Ensign

On July 4th, 2002, the Army announced the release of two new videos, "Soldier, Empower Yourself," and "Operations" which can be viewed from any computer with internet access (www.americasarmy.com) The Army claims that these videos have been downloaded 24 million times since their debut!

You share the experience of a nervous GI as he aims down the sight of his special "sniper rifle" at a shadowy figure who darts across a road in front of him. The soldier tenses and then squeezes the trigger, crumpling his target into the dust. Some restrictions are placed on realism however. For example, there are no sound effects (gun fire or screams) when someone is shot. Instead, a small red blotch simply appears on his body, similar to a "hit" in a paintball game. Critics believe that the Army prefers that warfare be displayed in this sanitized way so that its videos can qualify for a coveted "teen" rating." This means that the videos can be accessed by anyone above the age of twelve, insuring a much larger audience.

In other parts of these videos, video players can experience "virtual" boot camp, go on recon missions in Afghanistan's Tora Bora caves and hone their shooting skills with various weapons. By hitting a button on the screen at any time, a player can access the Army's recruitment website which, among other things, urges young people to "earn the right to call yourself a soldier."

On a related front, the Bush Administration has pushed through an amendment to its "No Child Left Behind" education bill which requires all high schools to release personal data about their juniors and seniors to military recruiters. Exploiting pro- military sentiment after September 11th, the Pentagon is now able to threaten the roughly 4,000 high schools who were withholding personal information on their students with the loss of federal aid. According to the Army Times (12/23/02) this threat has been highly effective; only "six or seven" high schools continue to deny recruiters access to their students' addresses and phone numbers.

Citizen Soldier is working with parent/teacher groups across the country who are opposed to this violation of students' privacy. They are working to amend the law so that such information can be given to recruiters only after a parent or guardian has expressly consented to its release.

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 GI Joe
Goes
Digital

by Rachel Ensign

On July 4th, 2002, the Army announced the release of two new videos, "Soldier, Empower Yourself," and "Operations" which can be viewed from any computer with internet access (www.americasarmy.com) The Army claims that these videos have been downloaded 24 million times since their debut!

You share the experience of a nervous GI as he aims down the sight of his special "sniper rifle" at a shadowy figure who darts across a road in front of him. The soldier tenses and then squeezes the trigger, crumpling his target into the dust. Some restrictions are placed on realism however. For example, there are no sound effects (gun fire or screams) when someone is shot. Instead, a small red blotch simply appears on his body, similar to a "hit" in a paintball game. Critics believe that the Army prefers that warfare be displayed in this sanitized way so that its videos can qualify for a coveted "teen" rating." This means that the videos can be accessed by anyone above the age of twelve, insuring a much larger audience.

In other parts of these videos, video players can experience "virtual" boot camp, go on recon missions in Afghanistan's Tora Bora caves and hone their shooting skills with various weapons. By hitting a button on the screen at any time, a player can access the Army's recruitment website which, among other things, urges young people to "earn the right to call yourself a soldier."

On a related front, the Bush Administration has pushed through an amendment to its "No Child Left Behind" education bill which requires all high schools to release personal data about their juniors and seniors to military recruiters. Exploiting pro- military sentiment after September 11th, the Pentagon is now able to threaten the roughly 4,000 high schools who were withholding personal information on their students with the loss of federal aid. According to the Army Times (12/23/02) this threat has been highly effective; only "six or seven" high schools continue to deny recruiters access to their students' addresses and phone numbers.

Citizen Soldier is working with parent/teacher groups across the country who are opposed to this violation of students' privacy. They are working to amend the law so that such information can be given to recruiters only after a parent or guardian has expressly consented to its release.

NEXT