A high-profile peace movement coupled with the wavering popularity of the Iraq war have conspired to drive up the number of students who are taking their names off military recruitment lists, the Boston Globe reports. In Massachusetts alone, more than 5,000 high school students in five the largest districts have opted out of a 2002 provision in the No Child Left Behind Act that provides student information to recruiters. Military officials told the Globe that military recruiters have many avenues to target potential recruits—the high school lists are just one.
Amid a high-profile recruiting crisis, Air Force leaders and experts have increasingly noted the challenging long-term trends the service will face in enticing young Americans to sign up—decreasing eligibility to serve, less propensity to do so, and less familiarity with the military. But while those same leaders say there’s no “silver…