COUNTERING MILITARY RECRUITMENT
Articles: Military Recruiting: General
After exposing teachers to tasks, Guard marks rise in student interest
CHRIS NEWMARKER, Associated Press
July 16, 2006
FORT DIX, N.J. – They ride Black Hawk helicopters, fire mock assaultrifles
in combat simulators and can learn what it's like to drive a Humvee.
Some
are so excited that they want pictures of themselves holding guns.
But these enthusiasts aren't about to join the military. They're
principals, teachers, coaches and mentors – people who New Jersey
military
recruiters believe hold the key to getting more high school students
interested in the armed forces.
The strategy seems to be working. With the military sometimes
struggling to
meet recruitment goals nationwide, New Jersey's National Guard has seen
an
increase in enlistment in the two years since the inception of its
"Educate
the Educator" program.
"If it wasn't for programs like this, educators wouldn't have an
understanding of what we do," said Lt. Col. Dennis Devery, who runs
recruitment efforts for the New Jersey Guard.
Col. Devery credits the hands-on tours at Fort Dix, held two to three
times
a week in the past year, with putting the New Jersey Guard on track to
sign
up 900 high school and college students this year. Before the program,
the
Guard averaged 500 high school and college enlistments, he said. The
900
recruits this year are part of a total 1,500 expected enlistments.
The program has also been tried in other states, said Jack Harrison, a
spokesman for the National Guard Bureau in Arlington, Va.
Guard officials say by educating the educators, they gain valuable
allies
in recruiting students whose parents are often concerned their children
will be sent into battle.
Sgt. Steve Lawrence, a Guard recruiter, said he often points out to
parents
that he's been in the Guard for six years and has yet to see combat
duty –
but he knows that's possible.
"It's always the first thing I hear: 'Iraq, Iraq, Iraq,' " said Sgt.
Lawrence. "The parents are afraid."
With at least 2,500 members of the U.S. military dead since the
beginning
of the Iraq war, Col. Devery acknowledged that concerns about safety
are
legitimate.
"I understand that not everybody's going to go. But why would you take
a
young person who could so benefit from joining the Guard, and not
provide
them with the information?" Col. Devery said.
During one tour in late May, a Black Hawk helicopter landed at Audubon
High
School, about 7 miles southeast of Philadelphia, and flew about a dozen
educators to Fort Dix. The group checked out faux indoor combat
environments and fought an ammunition-free gun battle in a combat
simulator.
Audubon High School principal Don Borden said the tour was fun and
underscored the importance of military training and recruiting.
"What we do, we're just supportive of the kids who want to join. That's
something I'll always do as long as I'm there," Mr. Borden said.
High schools across the country generally treat military recruiters as
they
would any recruiter from a college or potential employer; for example,
letting them set up tables to disseminate information to students
during
school lunch periods, said Jill Cook, programs director for the
American
School Counselors Association in Alexandria, Va.
At Pennsauken High School, near Philadelphia, guidance counselor Denise
Wrzeszczynski said some students see the military as a way to obtain an
affordable college education or develop career skills. Their parents
are
often worried they'll see combat, she said.
"Sometimes they'll express that their parents are unhappy with their
choice
and we discuss reasons why their parents might be unhappy," Ms.
Wrzeszczynski said.
Tom Vara, athletic director at Hopatcong High School, 40 miles west of
Manhattan, doesn't encourage his students to join the military. He
tells
them to get an education first.
"It's really patriotic, but there's another side as well. We're at war
right now, and there's a degree of risk you have to be aware of," he
said.
One recent recruit from Audubon, 18-year-old Joe Werner, attended the
Fort
Dix tour with the educators. He said getting on the Black Hawk with his
classmates made him feel like the "president of the United States."
Mr. Werner said he isn't worried when other students tell him he's
going to
end up taking gunfire in Iraq. "I say, 'First, I'll have great stories
to
tell my kids. And second, I'll be able to save my country,' " he said.
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