I wasn't really sure what to title this, this is just a vent post if anything.
Today is the first day of school where I work, It's generally a good day for the kids, plenty of activities and not a lot of hitting to books, just time to reconnect with friends and ease into the year.
Every year they have bouncy houses, and every year they are provided by the Army National Guard. They have guys out here in their uniforms, and their big ass truck that screams, "FREE TUITION" on the side.
I remember having recruiters hassling me near the end of High School, but man, middle school? Now, I don't know if these folks are hanging back and simply supervising, or if they're actually chatting up the kids about the National Guard. I'll tell you, I'll be priming my kids to tell them to buzz off when they're entering this grade level.
I guess with enlistment numbers down for the military in general, they're doing everything they can to encourage new recruits. Even if they sit back and don't talk to anyone the whole time, they're still "normalizing" the military and planting a seed in the children's minds for when they're older.
That's probably true. But they have been doing this a long time. The Guards has an event assistance program for almost anything, and on the site it says "we hope to be able to promote the positive attributes of military service at your event."
That's the goal. They bring the truck, they bring the bounce house, they get to promote military service at the event.