Career-wise, are village burning, violating other nations' sovereignty, bombing to "send a message," and other such military antics on a par with being a doctor, lawyer, teacher, or research scientist? Our Congress seems to think so. A few decades ago, when Vietnam was still a fresh memory, ROTC programs and military recruiters would have been stoned off most high school and college campuses. Since Reagan rehabilitated blind nationalism and military aggression, there has been a creeping return of military types seeking to lure young minds into careers of meddling in the affairs of other nations. Now Congress is trying to pass a bill which would force public High Schools to give military recruiters and propagandists access to the young people who attend them, if they also offered access to college recruiters or to recruiters for any other profession. Another huge argument for universal access to private schools that serve the needs of their customers, instead of the agenda of Big Brother. ----- WASHINGTON (AP) -- Public high schools would have to give military recruiters the same access they give colleges and private-sector representatives under a provision attached to a $310 billion defense bill headed for Senate action. Sponsors of the measure expressed alarm at what they said was an increasing number of high schools that are denying access to military recruiters just as the services are struggling to meet their recruitment goals. High schools barred such recruiters more than 19,000 times last year, said the Senate Armed Services Committee. ``It's very common,'' said Sen. Tim Hutchinson, R-Ark., chairman of the Armed Services personnel subcommittee. ``Lack of access to high school students is the biggest problem faced by military recruiters.'' Hutchinson's measure would make it illegal for public high schools to discriminate against military recruiters if those high schools allow private-sector and college representatives on campus. The only way to keep the military out would be if the local school board took a specific vote to deny them access to the school. ``I would be extremely surprised if a school board wants to publicly vote to maintain a policy that is biased against the very institutions that guarantee America's freedom,'' Hutchinson said. As originally proposed, the legislation would have denied federal education funds to schools that violate the proposed law. However, Senate Democrats objected and that was removed, so the legislation the Senate Armed Services Committee approved this week has no enforcement mechanism. The provision was included in a bill authorizing Defense Department programs for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. Lt. Col. Catherine Abbott, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said the military services have been ``working very hard to get access to the high schools'' but that it is often difficult. Approximately 2,000 public high schools have policies that bar military recruiters from one or more of the services, she said. With year after year of declines in military recruitments -- blamed in part on the strong economy and the availability of higher-paying private sector jobs -- the military has sweetened its enlistment packages. In many cases, enlistment bonuses of $5,000 or more are offered. The Pentagon also has a program under which it will help recruits pay for two years of college in advance of military service. ``Young people deserve to know all the options available to them,'' said Hutchinson, who said many school administrators exhibit ``an anti-military bias.'' The legislation is opposed by some education groups, including the National School Boards Association, which believes such decisions should be made locally, not by the federal government. ``We believe this is a local school district matter, and not appropriate for the federal government,'' said Reggie Felton, the association's director of federal relations. He said he was pleased, however, that the fund cutoff provision had been dropped. David Griffith, director of governmental affairs for the National Association of State Boards of Education, said the Senate committee's vote was ``somewhat ironic'' in that the Senate has been debating legislation in recent days ``that focused a lot on flexibility and local control.'' Although Congress has provided over $400 million in additional funds over the past three years for military recruiting and retention, last year all military services except the Marine Corps failed to meet recruiting goals. Through March 2000, Pentagon figures show, the Army, Navy and Marine Corps were on track to meet their recruitment goals for the year, but the Air Force was meeting only 83 percent of its goal. The Senate may take up the full defense authorization bill as early as next week. The action comes as military spending legislation was advancing through both the House and the Senate. Legislation in both chambers would give the military a 3.7 percent across-the-board pay increase next year -- following a 4.8 percent increase in military pay that took effect last January. ``Military recruiters still have to have access to the students to make the case for what's available,'' Hutchinson said. According to the Armed Services Committee, last year there were 4,515 specific cases of denial of high school access to Army recruiters, 4,364 instances of denial for the Navy; 4,884 cases ofdenial for the Marine Corps; and 5,465 instances for the Air Force. -- Eric Michael Cordian 0+ O:.T:.O:. Mathematical Munitions Division "Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be The Whole Of The Law"