Abstract
Despite a significant literature addressing the effects of war and armed conflict, social work scholarship has largely failed to engage with militarism and the root causes of war. In the USA, notwithstanding a professional legacy of peace activism and recent efforts to improve social workers’ competencies in working with US military personnel, veterans, and their families, this omission is especially glaring. Notably, few scholars have sought to investigate the growing connections and collaboration between the military and public education. Schools are a primary site for socialization into societies that support war, and the USA is no exception. Compared to most other industrialized societies, the USA is a distinct outlier and provides an important case study. The tradition of military recruiters visiting high schools is deeply ingrained in the USA, with many schools logging visits from the military every two or three days that school is in session. Drawing attention to US obligations under the UN Optional Protocol related to child soldiering, we underscore the necessity for social work to counter the militarization of youth in schools and other institutions.