How to Teach About the Military-Industrial Complex

A video and text-based educational curriculum on the American Military-Industrial Complex. Topics include: US military budget, military-keynesianism, psychology of military training, role of the oil industry, weapons corporations, private military corporations, School of the Americas, special forces, drones, non-state actors, American peace movement, lessons learned and the effects of war. Many of the videos are available for free on YouTube and Vimeo.

Originally designed for use in a Catholic parish run by the Jesuits in the USA.

1. Discussion on the US military budget; worldwide military budget. If all or part is diverted to medicine, infrastructure or schools, what could it purchase? What is the role of Congress? Military-industrial-congressional complex? Viewing of documentary "Why We Fight".;

2. Military-Keynesianism and the American Republic/Roman Republic. Is it sustainable? Viewing of interviews/documentaries with author Video #1 Chalmers Johnson ("Sorrow of Empire") and Video #2 (American militarism) -- What is Military-Keynesianism? -- Cutting Weapons Funding vs Jobs -- "War Is An Economy"

3. Psychology of getting young people to kill on command; "killology". Psychology of military/guerilla indoctrination. Dehuminization, language, conformity, advertising, recruitment, "economic draft", role of Catholics in whipping up war fever (O'Reilly, Hannity, Coulter). Viewing of documentary "Anybody's Son Will Do". Basic training scenes from Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket Part 1" and "Full Metal Jacket Part 2"; graphic representations of individual personality destruction and enforced group conformity.

4. Role of oil in military-industrial complex. Halliburton/Cheney/Kuwait/Iraq/Saudi Arabia. Role of prominent Catholics (ie: Koch Brothers) in oil industry and denying climate change/preventing wide deployment of solar/wind. Viewing of documentary "Koch Brothers Exposed"

5. Weapons corporations/lobbyists/ties to Congress. Boeing, Lockheed Martin, etc. Political donations. Ethical investing; mutual funds that do not have ties to weapons corporations. Viewing of "The Jet That Ate the Pentagon" and Congress Keeps Buying. Short clip about the largest bullet manufacturer in the US: Lake City Army Ammunition Plant; 2nd largest ammunition plant in the US: Crane Army Ammunition; Various language euphemisms are used in thi clip about the McAlester Bomb Factory; official video about the operations at the McAlester plant

6. Rise of private military corporations/ethical considerations. Exploring Blackwater, Executive Outcomes, DynCorp. Viewing of documentary "Iraq for Sale" -- "Frontline: Private Warriors" -- "Inside Blackwater" by Journeyman Pictures -- "Superpower for Hire" by Vice

7. School of the Americas at Fort Bragg; Jesuit murders in El Salvador; American Sisters murder in El Salvador. Exporting torture methodology by the US; annual protest by US Jesuits. Viewing of documentary "School of the Americas, School of the Assassins" , movie "Romero, the Assassination of an Archbishop", short documentary "Murder of American Missionaries in El Salvador" -- Killed in El Salvador by NY Times (4 American Sisters Murdered)

8. American Special Forces - training or torture? Psychology of extreme military training. Role of worldwide special forces in Fighting/torture/murder: Kabiles, Atlactl, UK SAS, Australian SAS, Kopassus, GGK, Spetsnaz. Viewing of documentary "US Navy SEALs BUDS Class 234 Hellweek" -- Australian SAS Selection Course -- US Army Special Forces Selection -- US Rangers Assessment -- Malaysian Commando GGK Selection -- Philippine Scout Rangers -- Indonesia Special Forces Training (shooting at recruits)

9. Drones/military robotics. Rise of the Machines ie: Terminator? Ethical considerations. DARPA's military robotics research/MIT/iRobot. America's drone program. Viewing of documentary "Rise of the Drones" and "Unmanned: America's Drone Wars"

10. Non-state actors in worldwide military-industrial complex. American Gun lobby/NRA/3-D printing of guns, freelance arms dealers. Viewing of documentary "3D Printed Guns" -- Untraceable Ghost Guns -- Ghost Gunner Milling Machine for AR-15s. Documentary: "NRA Ties to Firearms Industry" , Clip from "Lord of War" discussing the relationship of the American military-industrial complex and freelance arms dealers: "A Necessary Evil"

11. Worldwide military-industrial complex. Percent of budgets spent on weapons vs. healthcare, education, infrastructure. Viewing of documentary: "The New Arms Race" -- "The Business of War: SOFEX" -- NY Times investigation on weapons export from Europe

12. Study of American peace movement: Granny Peace Brigade, Veterans for Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Catholic Pax Christi, SOA Watch, War Resisters League, Center for Defense Information at POGO. Viewing of documentary "Granny Peace Brigade". Documentary: "John Kerry Testimony: Vietnam Veterans Against the War" -- Testimony of Mike Prysner at Winter Soldier organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War. "Remembering Father Dan Berrigan, a Prophet of Peace", Part I and Part 2 short documentary about the legendary Jesuit peacemaker. Weapons divesture movement: Divest From the War Machine and a website that screens financial mutual funds for weapons corporations: Weapon Free Funds

13. Lessons learned - are we learning from history? Were mistakes made? Are there other courses of action that could have been taken? Viewing of documentary "The Fog of War" with former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara,

14. After effects on civilians/soldiers. What are the repercussions on those that fight? On civilians caught in the crossfire? Who benefits from war? Who pays the price? Is that price too high? Viewing of documentary "First Kill"; viewing of documentary "Hell and Back Again" viewing of documentary "Collateral Murder", Veterans describe the horror of killing humans in war: "On Killing"

15. Historical study of American soldiers during the Vietnam War: "Sir! No Sir!": documentary about the anti-war movement within the US military and "Vietnam: The Quiet Mutiny": a report from the front lines of the war on the open rebellion of American troops.

16. A look at the American military-industrial complex over the past 100 years: "The Rise of the World's Biggest Empire"

17. A documentary that looks at the role of the American media in selling war to the America public: "The War That You Don't See"

18. Insightful documentary by Vietnam War veteran Oliver Stone on the connections between the military-industrial complex and the American economy: "Age of Terror"

19. Touching documentaries about a former American soldiers who fought in Vietnam returning to Vietnam to help rebuild the country: Part of the Change and PBS News Hour

20. Retired Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson about the American military-industrial complex. Wilkerson was General Powell's Chief of Staff: "The Empire's Ship Is Sinking"

21. 2 lists of top weapons corporations throughout the world: "Companies Profiting the Most From War" -- "Most Powerful Weapons Manufacturers in the World"

23. The American military-industrial complex, national security state and secret national surveillance: "War on Whistleblowers" by Brave New Films

24. Short video on over 800 American military bases all over the planet: "Why Does the US Have 800 Military Bases Around the World?"

25. Clip from the movie "War Dogs" discussing the real reasons behind war: "War Is An Economy"

26. The Costs of War: Hidden, Human, Visual

27. Sociology discussion on the military-industrial complex: University of Minnesota Open Textbooks

28. Article entitled "Suppose They Gave a War and No One Came?" - Article that explores the story of a young man refusing to participate in the America war machine. From McCall's, October, 1966

29. Interview with author Annie Jacobsen on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), its role in the American military-industrial complex and the development of autonomous hunter-killer robots: Inside DARPA: The Pentagon's Brain

30. Short NY Times documentary about the NSA's mass surveillance program called "Stellar Wind" and the national surveillance state: The Program

31. Former British SAS soldier Ben Griffin discusses the true beneficiaries of modern wars. Founder of Veterans for Peace in the UK. Speech give at The Oxford Union:

I Will NOT Fight For Queen and Country

32. Former British SAS soldier Ben Griffin speaks about militarization, recruitment and the military corporations that benefit from it: Militarization, Recruitment and the Military Corporations

33. Song "Lives in the Balance" by Jackson Browne. Discusses how war follows American business interests and is sold to the people:

"Lives In the Balance" from 1986