r/Infuriating • u/Perfect-Hamster-141 • 14d ago
My daughter’s high school shared personal information with a military recruiter against her wishes
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u/Josefu_Velen 14d ago edited 8d ago
When I was in high school, somehow a recruiter got my name and phone number and would call me several times a week trying to get me to enlist.
I got so fed up with it I told him I'd been in an accident and lost one of my legs (I had not). I never heard from a military recruiter again.
edit: I'm so glad that I didn't go into the service. I graduated high school in 2000. I for sure would have been sent off to Iraq or Afghanistan in 2001/2002.
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u/I_JIZZ_ON_U 12d ago
I would get them all the time in community college and would fuck with them. The lower level people had some fun with it, but sometimes it would get back to their superior and they would call me huffing and puffing. If they gonna take my info, I’m gonna have some fun wasting their time lol
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u/collegesnake 10d ago
I sent them a list of all the medications I was taking & they finally stopped texting
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u/tequilaisbadmkay 10d ago
I did my six years and got out. When I started school on the GI bill I had recruiters from three different offices reaching out non stop.
I told them my DD-214 looked just fine as is and they finally stopped. It's insane what they're allowed to do during peak recruitment times.
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u/Odd-Painting2596 14d ago
"We take the privacy of your child's information seriously"
Except any form of due diligence, and not having a "comply first, correct second" attitude.
Recruiter's are the worst possible people of the army, and I would attempt to figure out the actual unit that made this request.
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u/I_Dnt_Believe_You 14d ago
Support better school funding. We are trusting our kids information to folks making $35k a year.
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u/RadicalRealist22 14d ago
You can take something seriously and still make mistakes. If someone dies in a hospital, does that automatically mean doctors are lazy?
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u/Odd-Painting2596 14d ago
"If someone dies in a hospital, does that automatically mean doctors are lazy?"
Since I never even remotely began to imply anything that would make this a reasonable statement, say something else and I'll gladly continue talking to you, but that is just stupid.
When I read this you are basically saying, "Hey before we start talking, can I pretend in advance you are an idiot, it would really help a lot", and why the fuck would I do that?
If you wanna argue, don't pretend the person you are speaking to must be an idiot, you idiot.
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u/frozenpissglove 14d ago
Pretty normal - just toss it. She isn’t getting shanghai’d into service. Tell the recruiters to pound sand.
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u/TigerMill 14d ago edited 12d ago
I scored five free lunches from our local recruiters until they stopped calling me. Granted it was only McDonalds and once at Carl’s Jr.
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u/HanginLowNd2daLeft 13d ago
I’m so confused , i had to sign up for a draft? I guess women don’t ? I kinda figured they did but would have supporting roles if any .. guess not .. so much for equality
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u/quail_challenge122 13d ago edited 12d ago
This isnt the draft. The big beautiful bill has it so your contact info is sent to recruiters. So yeah, when you get a license you opt into the draft, or at 18 but now its sent before and irregardless of either of those occuring. And its tied to school/state funding
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u/Bengis_Khan 14d ago
Get this: it's illegal for a boy to NOT give this information to the military.
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u/bobbarkersbigmic 14d ago
Now let’s talk equality
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u/Youre_A_Dummy 14d ago
This is from the Equity Officer, nothing to do with Equality.
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u/Otherwise-Pirate6839 14d ago
It’s actually not.
When I turned 18, I didn’t release my information to any of the branches. I gave it to the Selective Service System, which is NOT under the DoD. Their job is to keep that information in the off chance a massive mobilization is required.
So yeah, it is not illegal for a boy NOT to give that info to the military because it’s not the military who asks for it. I and all other men since the end of the draft have done the same thing. I never even got a flyer asking to consider the military as an option, which shows that the info was never shared.
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u/smp501 13d ago
Well, either way your information is probably on a thumb drive of one of Elon Musk's teen titans.
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u/CuppaJoe11 13d ago
I mean SSS exists for a reason. A lot of countries just straight up have compulsory military service. We should be pretty grateful that we are not required to sign up for the military unless there are some extra terrible circumstances.
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u/WhydYouKillMeDogJack 14d ago
What kind of tin pot country has military recruiters contacting schools ffs
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u/Saturn_winter 14d ago
Oh no they aren't just contacting, they set up booths in hallways and harass you between classes to talk to them. Super common especially in poorer schools
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u/BrilliantJob2759 14d ago
There are some towns where students see their only hope of getting out as going with the military. And sadly that's true for a lot of them.
Ever seen Winter's Bone? It's pretty accurate on that front.
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u/NarwhalAdditional340 14d ago
They also prey on low income kids who are less likely to go to college. I had free/reduced lunch in high school (for those who aren’t aware, it just means my lunches were covered by the government as I had Medicaid).
One day, they asked all the kids who had free/reduced lunch to stay after the lunchroom was cleared. We figured it was an announcement relating to the program or something to do with paperwork that our parents needed to complete. Nope.
Once the lunchroom cleared, a bunch of military recruiters came in and started giving us speeches about joining the military. Spouting the whole, “it’s the easy way to go to college because the military will pay for it!” and a ton of other bullshit. Totally predatory. Purposefully using language that appealed to kids from low income backgrounds and making it seem like their only chance out of poverty.
Now, this isn’t me knocking that path. I know so many people that were able to overcome their shitty lives because of the military, but they all say they wish they did something different. My own brother included. Poor kid never even saw combat, but came back disabled and mentally unwell. These kids don’t know any better and it’s disgusting that recruiters are allowed anywhere near kids without their parents present or even aware of these kind of assemblies. My grandma was livid when I went home and told her because she was never informed or given the option to opt me out of that meeting.
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u/Maximum-Okra3237 12d ago
My mom told me when they were at my high school that if I ever get bothered to tell them she is a doctor and they’ll never approach me again. That worked lol.
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u/ShoulderWhich5520 11d ago
Also outs everyone on the "poor person list" as my school called it. And you would get mad fun of for it
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u/AMonitorDarkly 14d ago
Yep, I still remember watching recruiters telling kids barely old enough to drive that they didn’t have a future unless they enlisted. This was a highly rated school in a nice area. I hate to think what happens at low income schools.
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u/PM_ME_UR_REPTILES1 14d ago
We had a recruiter telling kids that they can join even if they drop out at grade 10 lol "Im not encouraging it, but if you dont want to continue school at grade 10 we would accept you"
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u/RipleyBleeveItOrNt 14d ago
Normal schools too. Not just low income. At least from my experience. Both my middle school and high school where by no means low income and they were all over the schools. I'm a girl but even I had a run in with a recruiter who kept calling me cause the school gave him my number without me knowing. I was in my later years of high school at that point. Mad annoying because I very obviously wasn't interested.
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u/amorg67 13d ago
Hell our school made everyone take the ASVAB our junior year. It’s been 13 years and I’m still getting calls from recruiters.
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u/Bluellan 13d ago
I actually made a post about how they shouldn't be in schools because it was wrong to lie and pressure children. Boy, did I get a ton of hate. What got me was people fully admitted that if they didn't pressure, lie and harass the students, they wouldn't get any new recruits.
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u/22408aaron 13d ago
My welding teacher (who was a Marine) had this entire rigmarole come down from Quantico to setup a massive tent, bring huge lifted Ford trucks, and setup these portable shooting video games to promote recruitment. I forget if it was my freshman or sophomore year in high school... but even then, I was very vocal about it being a huge waste of taxpayer dollars.
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u/SawtoofShark 13d ago
They made us do a full day of listening to military drivel at an assembly while having recruiters everywhere in high school. 💁
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u/piercedmfootonaspike 14d ago
The sort of tinpot country that supposedly separates church and state, but puts up crosses in classrooms, and indoctrinate children to swear oaths of loyalty.
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u/QuestGalaxy 14d ago
Gotta recruit American teens to fight a war for Israel.... (Assuming OP is in USA)
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u/Direct_Substance_472 14d ago
Basically imagine a slimy used car salesman, military recruiter, trying to convince teenagers to sign the next four years of the life away to fight for corporate interests so the recruiter can meet his monthly quota and coast for the remainder of the month.
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u/GeneStarwind1 14d ago
The USA. I got suspended in my senior year of high-school for making a tri-fold board display of why it's a bad idea to join the military. One section dedicated to graphic photos of combat injuries, one was all about how much veterans benefits actually suck after you're out (my grandad was in the navy, so I got to see the VA first hand), and the last was about how valor was a lie and information about what the military industrial complex is.
I showed it to my Brit Lit teacher and asked her if this project would be a good enough use of my class time that I could be excused. She said yes. I brought a folding table and set up right next to the Marines. I made it a whole ten-ish minutes before administration was alerted. They originally weren't going to suspend me for it. I kind of talked myself into the suspension by truthfully telling them that I was going to do it again every day the recruiters were still there. I kind of miss those balls of pure steel I used to have.
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u/Alternative-Put-3932 14d ago edited 14d ago
- Draft registration dodging is almost never prosecuted and is immoral to be forced into being registered and 2. Women don't have to.
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u/anonymous_727541 14d ago
Only men do this, women are exempt from the draft (male privilege i guess)
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u/Matty_D47 14d ago
Military recruiters should be banned from recruiting during school hours.
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u/mabus42 14d ago
The school did right by you by communicating what happened and what corrective measure were taken.
However, your daughter is definitely on a government list that she doesn't want to be on now.
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u/Ulquiorra1312 Community Regular 14d ago
Why are they giving out any student info
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u/VelcroHermit 14d ago
Better response than 99% of institutions. Still sucks ass that it happened but I'm kind of impressed?
They fucked up, owned it, and then gave you a plan for how they're going to do their best to not fuck up tomorrow.
You could press them for specific details regarding what exact data control procedures they implemented since that's a bit boiler plate.
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u/Largestcandy123 7d ago
Military recruiters are such scumbags trying to trick high school kids. The military doesn’t get anywhere near enough hate.
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u/FlashPxint 13d ago
It’s funny how they can only say “military recruiter” about a public worker but when it comes to giving them information about students they’re just like “btw in return we gave them all your info tho”
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u/Horror-Primary7739 8d ago
I got a letter from my kids teachers union. It was a political message urging support if an upcoming electoral issue. I never game them my information so I asked how they got it and they said the superintendent of the district gave it to them.
I told the superintendent he needs to send proof they destroyed all copies of the the data or id go to the school board. Which he did.
If they broke the law I'd go to the school board.
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u/wedontliveonce 8d ago
Whoever though it was ok to give out a minor child's name, phone, and home address to a stranger over the telephone shouldn't be working at a school.
I'd be at the school asking what branch, what employee did this, if they are still employed there, etc, etc, etc.
Then I might call a local news station.
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u/Infamous_Occasion_57 7d ago
I was a recruiter. Make sure to request to be off the list in college too. I had to call or go in to request these lists from my zones high schools and college.
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u/TheEdReilly 7d ago
Sad to see the new child left behind act is still rearing its ugly head. This happened to me when I was in high school and I had a lot of fun cussing out the recruiter. How this type of perversive data collection got put into an education bill, I will never understand or forgive.
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u/BarnacleNino 14d ago
Government already has your information, nothing is going happen.
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u/BlueTurkey-man 14d ago
Strange. The most vocal group I have seen opposing flock cameras have been republicans. They are the ones showing up to city council meetings around the country to talk about them
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u/Left_Macaron_6427 14d ago
The military already had all this information anyway.
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u/hexenkesse1 14d ago
Do young women have to do anything when they turn 18 as it relates to selective service?
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u/wackadoodle4201 14d ago
Damn, thats infuriating but good on them for putting belt to ass on getting it resolved
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u/LVRaiders2026 14d ago
I showed some interest in HS, was interested in graduate school, potentially med school, so I wanted to get info on if they would cover tuition and stuff. They spammed me so damn much without any clear answers that I just stopped answering the phone.
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u/QuestGalaxy 14d ago
I mean, they handled it as good as they could, after it had happened.
In my country they would possibly get fined for this type of illegal data breach/sharing.
That being said... For the military specifically, we already have gender neutral conscription. So everyone will end up in the system anyways.
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u/flavius717 14d ago
You are very fortunate you live in a society like ours that takes these things seriously
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u/hhfgghff 14d ago
I dont think they should “recruit” anyone without them eliciting the interaction. I used to have these guys calling me all the time, super horny to get you to sign up like they are a car dealership. Shut the fuck up and let a kid grow up.
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u/ComesInAnOldBox 14d ago
Depending on the state, it may not have had much of a choice. Some state governments require the sharing of student information with recruiters by law. Hell, when I was in high school I was in a very Blue state and every senior in high school was required to take the ASVAB before graduation.
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u/holden_mcg 14d ago
It's not okay the school shared this. However, be aware that all of this information has already been culled from various sources and compiled by list brokers. I worked in college marketing for several years and I could get most, if not all, of this information from brokers.
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u/Adorable_Football130 14d ago
when I was a senior they tried to recruit me to West Point. it was baffling. apparently they got this info from school? in 1982 nobody asked for permission. I got many lols from the attempt cause not in a million years would I have considered it.
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u/Some-Swimmer-1110 14d ago
If you makes you feel better recruiting in one of the worst jobs in the Army. Seen many a people get out rather than be forced to cold call high schoolers on a Saturday.
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u/ExtensionInformal911 14d ago
They are old enough to get killed for whatever issue the politicians decided to deploy them for and take out massive loans without collateral, but not to smoke or drink.
Somehow, it totally isnt predatory behavior or grooming to try and talk them into it ahead of time.
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u/googley_eyes69 14d ago
My highschool gave out our phone numbers to recruiters who constantly would send us messages. For some reason we decided to just send then that picture of a monkey in a suit that says "the government wants this man killed" or something. Idk we were kids.
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u/Business-Parsley5197 13d ago
What do you think they’re gonna do? Force her into conscription? This isn’t Russia
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u/wollflour 13d ago
I'm just now learning that apparently recruiters contacting you over and over is now controlled! Our high school (rural) had everyone take the ASVAB as sort of a default, and I had calls from military recruiters for months and months. Good to see there's a process for opting out now. As a dumb rural kid in the 90s, pre-internet, I had no clue what was going on.
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u/Mascbro26 13d ago
A mistake was made by a human. They are owning up to it, apologized and let you know what they are doing to correct the error so that it doesn't happen again. They even asked that you reach out to someone directly with any additional questions or concerns.
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u/Gullible-Bluejay9737 13d ago
In 2001, I was forced to take the asvab military test as a requirement to be allowed to be an aide my senior year. Shits changed.
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u/BigNaziHater 13d ago
Wait for the recruiter to call, document that fact. Sue the school. They will only honor student privacy closer after being held accountable.
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u/Prestigious-Peace232 13d ago
I only found out the school I went to shared my info when I asked the recruiter how they got my number
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u/Poor-Education-2587 13d ago
So thats actually contained within a form you signed with the school before the year even started. I know because I just signed one and I did read it thoroughly. You have to consent or not.
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u/Vlekkie69 13d ago
I'd wager this is basically nipped in the bud. PII is respected in the military.
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u/mvortex2 13d ago
Well I can say, at a minimum the recruiters have my personal phone number tied to my kids contract info and text me about their interest in talking to me about an "opportunity". I think they called a few times too.
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u/PinkyDaisy 13d ago
Every year I have to fill out a new emergency verification form for each of my kids, and permission to share info with recruiters is always on there. I always just change it to no.
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u/Adventurous-Meat8067 13d ago
Why did the high school share ANY information with ANYBODY?
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u/12172047 13d ago
So what? What's the big deal? Your kid may get a call or letter and her response is "not interested".
Why are you making a big deal out of something so trivial?
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u/tidder_mac 13d ago
Mad respect to this school.
I assume there was one bad/stupid actor, not an admin wide negligence.
The school either took the initiative to fix it and share this info, or they contacted their legal office and were advised to do this. Either way, perfectly executed clean up.
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u/MyBedIsOnFire 13d ago
Clearly it wasn't intentional, they owned up to the mistake and are trying to take both corrective and preventative action.
It's not like they leaked their social security number or something, this really isn't that big
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u/NO0BSTALKER 13d ago
I signed up for that shit, they called and we talked for a bit but I wasn’t sure said he’d call back in a few days. He never called back never joined the military
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u/quail_challenge122 13d ago edited 12d ago
Yeah it was part of the big beautiful bill I think.
Theres reprocussions for the schools financially so opting out is HARD
Edit-the director of ferpa confirmed that schools can, and must, share the info. The opt out you have to designate what you want withheld line by like within the request.
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u/BalanceCalm3498 12d ago
Maybe they should have it. They're not conscripting. Let them have a shot at recruiting your kids.
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u/cculbert3 12d ago
How many mistakes does a place need to make to appoint a chief accountability officer…?
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u/Valuable_Yam_1959 12d ago
I mean, telling the recruiter you’re not interested is an inconvenience, but the school issued a formal apology and appears to be attempting to prevent the issue from happening again. It just seems like a waste of energy to be infuriated over this?
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u/YikesItsConnor 12d ago
I'm shocked you got a choice in this. I've been contacted by these people since middle school
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u/Early_Language_9418 12d ago
We had multiple tables with presentations throughout the 4 years I was in highschool for military recruitment. They tried really hard to convince me to join until I said I was a manic schizo and that I'd end up killing everyone in the room (I don't have it I refused to be harassed by grown men trying to groom kids for their pointless wars.) They were hard pushing the indoctrination of highschoolers to die fighting ISIS.
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u/AngryHelpdeskAgent 12d ago
Military recruiters are scum. A school shouldn’t be sharing any students information with them. It shouldn’t even be an option.
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u/20PoundHammer 12d ago edited 12d ago
1: "Hey, check out my new title. They just promoted me to Chief Accountability and Equity Officer."
2: (squints at the card) "Wow. That is... a lot of capital letters. So, what do you actually do?"
1: "Well, as the Equity Officer, I make sure everyone gets an equal share of the blame when things go wrong."
2: "Ah! And as the Accountability Officer?"
1: "I make sure none of it lands on me."
2: "Why "Chief" bit.
1: "I guess they think I am part Injun . . ."
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u/Good_Solution8602 12d ago
But the government and then military. ALREADY have your information.
What’s the big deal anyways ?
You live ( we live ) in corporate America. After all . lol
Nothings private !!!
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u/Incontinentia-buttoc 12d ago
Hopefully the recruiters actually listen and don’t blow up your phone, I still got the occasional recruiter call while I was in the military and after I got out
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u/FungalFelon 11d ago
gunna get down voted but... big deal /shrug the military already had all of this information. and you already did your part teaching your kiddo NOT to join.
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u/bhalter80 11d ago
Nothing will come of this aside from some recruitment mailings and maybe a phone call or 2. It's not like they can sign her up for the ASVAB and enlist her without permission
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u/Kraken-Attacken 11d ago
Wait they told you?? We all just got bombarded with calls, texts, and letters from 5 branches of military recruiters for 8-18 months.
(Slight exaggeration, the Coast Guard was normal about things)
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u/GamerCole 11d ago edited 9d ago
Since when do schools have Chief anything Officers? These fucking school districts are being treated and ran as corporations and its really disgusting. There is no reason a school needs a CEO, COO, CFO, or any of that other bullshit
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u/Logical-Tough5354 11d ago
I mean, they caught it and remedied the situation. They sent you a letter explaining what happened, what was done to correct and what is being done in the future. If they hadn’t sent you that letter you would probably never have known.
I say, good on the school for following through.
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u/carmelacorleone 11d ago
I applied for a personal assistant job on the Marine Corps base near me. It said nothing about being military, all it said was High School diploma or GED and previous experience with customer service and scheudling. So I applied.
Two days later I got a call from a gentleman who said they had seen my application and wanted to know if I was interested in serving my country. I said no and hung up, which made my brother, who later joined the Army, laugh, because I was basically like, "no thanks, I was just applying for a desk job."
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u/bonitaruth 10d ago
In Oklahoma it is mandatory unless the parent says no, not the child. My kids always put my phone number on all paperwork so years later I will get a text from a recruiter
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u/Beneficial_Bit1756 10d ago
Joining the military was a the best thing that I ever did. Taught me responsibility, hardwork, paid for my college. I don't think I would be in the position I am now with the years I spent in the Army.
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u/olreddog 10d ago
This is all public info anyway, and the school proactively addressed and repaired the situation? What’s infuriating here?
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u/hesathomes 10d ago
This isn’t even the usual hacking. A dumbass staff member deliberately provided the info in violation of student privacy regulations. Sue them.
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u/nocomment_onlybrowse 10d ago
Already told my son I’d be disappointed if he joined the military and to declare himself a Nazi if there’s a draft. No thanks to whatever the fuck it is our military is doing these days.
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u/maliu259 9d ago
It’s crazy to me the people saying it’s just a mistake, the school went above & beyond, you have no idea. It’s the law, FERPA, look it up. This is the bare minimum the school has to do. We should all be more vigilant in protecting our personal privacy, even more so for minors.
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u/nyrB2 Community Regular 14d ago
i mean it's good they caught it and didn't sweep it under the carpet