Thread: Pentagon Creating Student Database

I know we have better things to focus on with CAFTA This is a little off subject.....but what's next?


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 02305.html
http://www.stevequayle.com/index1.html

Pentagon Creating Student Database
Recruiting Tool For Military Raises Privacy Concerns

By Jonathan Krim
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 23, 2005; Page A01

The Defense Department began working yesterday with a private marketing firm to create a database of high school students ages 16 to 18 and all college students to help the military identify potential recruits in a time of dwindling enlistment in some branches.

The program is provoking a furor among privacy advocates. The new database will include personal information including birth dates, Social Security numbers, e-mail addresses, grade-point averages, ethnicity and what subjects the students are studying.

The Pentagon yesterday released additional details about a program to compile a database of personal information on U.S. students to help bolster recruitment, saying that 12 million names currently are on file and that collection efforts have been going on for some time.


The data will be managed by BeNow Inc. of Wakefield, Mass., one of many marketing firms that use computers to analyze large amounts of data to target potential customers based on their personal profiles and habits.

"The purpose of the system . . . is to provide a single central facility within the Department of Defense to compile, process and distribute files of individuals who meet age and minimum school requirements for military service," according to the official notice of the program.

Privacy advocates said the plan appeared to be an effort to circumvent laws that restrict the government's right to collect or hold citizen information by turning to private firms to do the work.

Some information on high school students already is given to military recruiters in a separate program under provisions of the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act. Recruiters have been using the information to contact students at home, angering some parents and school districts around the country.

School systems that fail to provide that information risk losing federal funds, although individual parents or students can withhold information that would be transferred to the military by their districts. John Moriarty, president of the PTA at Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, said the issue has "generated a great deal of angst" among many parents participating in an e-mail discussion group.

Under the new system, additional data will be collected from commercial data brokers, state drivers' license records and other sources, including information already held by the military.

"Using multiple sources allows the compilation of a more complete list of eligible candidates to join the military," according to written statements provided by Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke in response to questions. "This program is important because it helps bolster the effectiveness of all the services' recruiting and retention efforts."

The Pentagon's statements added that anyone can "opt out" of the system by providing detailed personal information that will be kept in a separate "suppression file." That file will be matched with the full database regularly to ensure that those who do not wish to be contacted are not, according to the Pentagon.

But privacy advocates said using database marketers for military recruitment is inappropriate.

"We support the U.S. armed forces, and understand that DoD faces serious challenges in recruiting for the military," a coalition of privacy groups wrote to the Pentagon after notice of the program was published in the Federal Register a month ago. "But . . . the collection of this information is not consistent with the Privacy Act, which was passed by Congress to reduce the government's collection of personal information on Americans."

Chris Jay Hoofnagle, West Coast director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, called the system "an audacious plan to target-market kids, as young as 16, for military solicitation."

He added that collecting Social Security numbers was not only unnecessary but posed a needless risk of identity fraud. Theft of Social Security numbers and other personal information from data brokers, government agencies, financial institutions and other companies is rampant.

"What's ironic is that the private sector has ways of uniquely identifying individuals without using Social Security numbers for marketing," he said.

The Pentagon statements said the military is "acutely aware of the substantial security required to protect personal data," and that Social Security numbers will be used only to "provide a higher degree of accuracy in matching duplicate data records."

The Pentagon said it routinely monitors its vendors to ensure compliance with its security standards.

Krenke said she did not know how much the contract with BeNow was worth, or whether it was bid competitively.

Officials at BeNow did not return several messages seeking comment. The company's Web site does not have a published privacy policy, nor does it list either a chief privacy officer or security officer on its executive team.

According to the Federal Register notice, the data will be open to "those who require the records in the performance of their official duties." It said the data would be protected by passwords.

The system also gives the Pentagon the right, without notifying citizens, to share the data for numerous uses outside the military, including with law enforcement, state tax authorities and Congress.

Some see the program as part of a growing encroachment of government into private lives, particularly since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"It's just typical of how voracious government is when it comes to personal information," said James W. Harper, a privacy expert with the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank. "Defense is an area where government has a legitimate responsibility . . . but there are a lot of data fields they don't need and shouldn't be keeping. Ethnicity strikes me as particularly inappropriate."

Yesterday, the New York Times reported that the Social Security Administration relaxed its privacy policies and provided data on citizens to the FBI in connection with terrorism investigations.

Every single person involved in this needs to be fired immediately including everyone involved in this from the Pentagon and every high school that turned over the information.

NOW we know the Social Security Adminstration will upon request from the Department of Homeland Security hand over records on citizens, then obviously they are LEGALLY ALLOWED TO TURN OVER THE LIST OF ILLEGAL EMPLOYERS FILING PHONEY SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS ON THEIR ILLEGAL EMPLOYEES!!

GREAT WORK TMS!!!

Outstanding research!!

This is the first "helpful" article on the subject by the Washington Post...probably because they didn't know their "content" would help US make the case for prosecuting illegal employers!!

GOTCHA.....OBL Washington Post!!

And Thanks for the Information!!

NOW: Listen Up Department of Homeland Security

There are 7,200,000 tax returns sittingin the Social Security Administration filed by illegal aliens under a "special alien tax id number" allowed by a law passed under the Clinton Administration and signed into law by the husband of Hillary. These returns will tell you where the 7,200,000 households are located, address required, a telephone number, their name, their spouse name, and how many children in the household. I'm betting these returns by themselves will produce "proof" of the approximately 28,000,000 illegal aliens residing in the US as of April 15, 2005 whose working adult or adults filed these phoney tax returns..."wanting to do their part". The average filer paid $1,000 on average per "household" in TOTAL FEDERAL TAX including their social security payments.

THIS IS SO INFURITATING I COULD SCREAM!! They could have gotten this information all along and put an end to this disaster years ago...wonder why they didn't? Hmmmmm. Oh! That's right, they don't want to because they want to END OUR NATION.

I have no trouble with this Judy....the DOD has every right to recruit and on high school property too!

What I don't like is that non citizens are allowed into our military and foreign students are let into WEST POINT at taxpayer expense. Did you know this?

I believe that only in the last 25 years were non CITIZENS let into our armed forces. I don't want them there! Citizens only!

If this recruiting violates no laws about privacy then who cares? We have a volunteer army and they know the score when they join.

My brother is a major in the ARMY. He received a full ride to an expensive Catholic University and has 2 master's degree compliments of the taxpayer. He knew the score when he signed up!

I disagree with you Judy BUT you would agree that my brother should be on our southern border with 100,000 of his fellow soldiers?

Thanks stevequayle.com gets some of the credit I check his website daily! Damn Judy you are right on!

JackSmith!! OH yes, I agree 100% that our Troops should be on the Border. Jack, what I am upset about is that High Schools have given the Pentagon who has given an outside marketing company personal private information on American Children for "recruiting" purposes.

THAT is a lie, my friend. They did not give this marketing company this personal private information for "recuiting" purposes. You can ask the students for permission to give the Pentagon your name and address in case they would like to mail you a "recruiting" brochure. Army Recruiters can come to the schools on Career Day like they have for 200 years. They can give the school brochures to hand out.

"Recruiters" are not entitled nor do they need personal private information on our American School Children. It's illegal for the high schools to provide it.

If my mother wanted a copy of my school file, she couldn't get it. Did you know that? It is prohibited by federal law.

No marketing company for anybody let alone the Defense Department may have access to your social security number, your grades, your medical reports on file in a school without your permission. It is prohibited by federal law.

They are building this database for a "draft". That is the only reason they need your social security number before you volunteer or apply to join. They are going to institute a draft and need the social security number to send you the letter that says:

Please be advised you are to report for duty on xx/dd/yy at 0800!!

And our little 16 to 18 year olds will be wide-eyed when they open their letter and go "SAY WHAT?"

THAT's THE ONLY reason they needed the social security numbers of students ages 16 to 18. They sneaked around through the public schools to get this informaton to prepare for the draft hoping to keep it a "secret" until they got all their "ducks" in a row. They will draft the best students which is why they wanted to "study" their school file; the "healthy" students from their attendance and medical file provided by the school; and all the rest.

You can not believe ONE THING, Jack coming out of the mouths of any federal agency....not even the Defense Department.

WE MUST DEFEAT CAFTA and Get Bush Out of the White House!! The Man is a Maniac!!

Things all coming into play, Judy is right, I may of been fired from my job because I was onto this stuff this is far beyond ALIPAC! Things will be changing I truly believe things happen for a reason and why I am at home all the time with my daughter, unemployed now not at work, in the car, stuck in traffic. Just wait and see!

tms--what can you tell me about your job and what was going on there. Elaborate to the extent you can. It could lead to our finding more pieces of the puzzle. PM me if that would be more comfortable.

Ok?

I'm sorry you are unemployed. BUT, I also believe things happen for a reason.

Thanks!!

According to the Federal Register notice, the data will be open to "those who require the records in the performance of their official duties." It said the data would be protected by passwords.

Yeeeah....and who decides "who requires the records in the performance of their official duties"?

This is ILLEGAL!!

But, why should we be surprised? We have a Maniac and a Bunch of Goons running our country. We know they are selling us out; We know they are ending our nation; We know they don't care about Americans; We know they are Traitors. So....sure....why not let them have a database on all our children from age 16 to and through college? I feel "safe" with that, don't you?

And hey, how about that "mental evaluation" they plan to implement in all the schools....a pre-psych test.....for the Military. WON'T THAT signicantly expedite their "selection" process for the draft. Why, yes...it most certainly would speed it right along.

So what are the Maniac and Goons up to now? We headed to Iran and North Korea...or Africa? Or Home? Keep us all in line.

So....if you needed an Army to Control US....you wouldn't want American Children now would you? Naaaah, they wouldn't take kindly to fighting Americans. So...."ethnic" records and lack of a social security number would allow them to sort out the kids who are illegal....and put them in the Army....to Control US....and those kids probably wouldn't have a problem with that, would they? Naaaaah, they think they are going to end up with Aztlan!!

So....that now does explain doesn't it, the inexplicable decision by the United States Supreme Court a few years ago to allow alien children into our school system, to ready them to join by draft or recruitment an Army to control US when Bush hands us over to the UN and China!!

WOW!!!!!

They worked hard and well on this one!

God Help Us.

FEDERAL WORKERS....YOU BETTER START TALKIN' AND I MEAN NOW!!

Simple typing and talking aint gonna get this job done, any suguestions, ALIPAC members? This is one fish that wont take hook, line and sinker!!