Indoctrination for national security

An article in today's NY Times is worth pondering. At a time when American education is faltering, and well paying skilled blue-collar jobs ever scarcer, a branch of the American Boy Scouts called "Explorers for Life" is preparing American children for the careers of the future:

The training, which leaders say is not intended to be applied outside the simulated Explorer setting, can involve chasing down illegal border crossers as well as more dangerous situations that include facing down terrorists and taking out “active shooters,” like those who bring gunfire and death to college campuses. In a simulation here of a raid on a marijuana field, several Explorers were instructed on how to quiet an obstreperous lookout.

. . . In a competition in Arizona . . . one role-player wore traditional Arab dress.

I have no objection to training kids in the care and handling of guns or target shooting -- that's one thing. But training kids to tackle the "War on Drugs," the "War on Terror," or any mission identifiable with any Fox News designated "enemy" is something else entirely. Also, it seems to me that children should have a chance to learn to be ordinary citizens before they are indoctrinated into the ethos of any law-enforcement agency.