"We created this "Military Alternatives" booklet because we understand its not enough to simply explain the reasons not to join the military. We believe it is equally important to suggest realistic alternatives," said Jonathan McIntosh, a designer of the booklet.

“Military recruiters invade our schools, ambush our youth at Wal-Mart, and make coercive phone calls to our children's homes. Recruiters target youth of color, low-income youth and have started to target young people who are doing poorly academically." explains Chris Williams, one of the editors of the booklet. People of Color make up 37% of military recruits, which is an over-representation in relation to their proportion of the general population (realchangenews.org). Recruits are promised money for school, but only approximately 35% of recruits actually get the promised money (www.objector.org).

The booklet is 24 pages and contains information about the following:

. Getting into College
. Getting Computer Skills
. Money for College
. Four-Year Colleges
. Online Schools
. Two -Year Colleges
. Volunteer Corps
. Religious Volunteer Corps
. Apprenticeships
. Trade Schools
. Taking the G.E.D.
. Anti-War Resources
. Community Resources

The booklet is primarily meant for organizations to use as a tool to begin conversations about military recruitment and alternatives. It can be downloaded and printed by individuals (with some assembly) and can also be viewed as a PDF. Both the printable PDF and the viewable PDF can be found online at: bostondirectactionproject.blogspot.com

“It’s essential that we raise a generation not focused on militarism but focused on real human needs,” said Caroline Arpe, a researcher for the booklet. “The future of all of us depends on it.”