COUNTERING MILITARY RECRUITMENT
Articles: Military Recruiting: Youth of Color
Military recruiters set sights on Hispanics
Summer Harlow, USA Today
August 20, 2007
For Abraham Ramirez, a 20-year-old with a child and an arrest record,
the military represented his best shot at college and a career. For
the military, Ramirez fit squarely in the target demographic: age 18
to 24 and Hispanic.
The military is zeroing in on Hispanics, running Spanish-language
recruitment ads, offering English-as-a- second-language classes and
fast-tracking citizenship applications.
The tactics, which recruiters say are aimed at making America's force
look like its population, have helped lead to an increase in
recruits. The percentage of Hispanics in the active Army grew to
12.6% in fiscal year 2006 from 10.5% in fiscal year 2001. As the
military struggles to recruit and keep soldiers because of the war in
Iraq, the increase is a welcome trend for the Pentagon.
But critics contend that recruiters mislead potential Hispanic
recruits and their parents, who might not speak English. And, they
say, Hispanics end up as cannon fodder.
A 2003 Pew Hispanic Center report found that Hispanics were
over-represented in the most deadly frontline positions, making up
nearly 18% of personnel who handled weapons directly.
Recruiters can give a distorted picture, glossing over the risks,
said Jorge Mariscal, University of California-San Diego professor of
Latino studies and a Vietnam War veteran who is a part of the Project
on Youth and Non-Military Opportunities that counters military recruiters.
"With any high-powered salesman, you need to make sure you understand
what you're getting into," he said. "Parents, first-generation
immigrant parents, they probably do not understand all the fine
points of what the recruiter's sales pitch is."
Spanish radio ads, aimed primarily at "influencers, " or the recruits'
families and friends, emphasize the benefits research has shown
resonate most with Hispanics, such as being part of a larger Army
family, the ability to succeed, and pride in service to country, said
Gary Bishop, deputy director of strategic communications, marketing
and outreach for the U.S. Army Accessions Command in Kentucky.
A military family is one of the things Staff Sgt. Betsy Valentin said
she likes best about her service in the Delaware Air National Guard.
"There's this camaraderie, " said Valentin, who was born in the
Spanish-speaking U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. "I feel secure when
I'm on base."
Because language can sometimes be a barrier within the Hispanic
community, the National Guard is looking to launch a five-week
English-as-a- second-language training program for promising
enlistees. The Army already has an English-language training program in place.
Recruits don't have to be citizens, but they must be legal residents.
Still, undocumented immigrants often look to the military as a way
toward a legalized status.
A bipartisan proposal included in the immigration bill that died in
Congress in June would have allowed undocumented students to gain
legal status by completing two years of military service or college.
The measure is expected to come before Congress as a stand-alone bill
this fall.
For those here legally, President Bush in 2002 signed an executive
order that fast-tracked citizenship applications for those who serve
in the military.
It makes sense for the Army to focus on Hispanics, who make up the
fastest-growing pool for military recruitment, said Bishop.
Hispanics represent only about 13% of the Army recruits but about 18%
of the civilian population aged 18 to 24, according to Army statistics.
The reasons Hispanics are joining the military are not radically
different than what drives any other youth to enlist, said Sgt. 1st
Class Joseph Nye, a recruiter for the Delaware Army National Guard.
About a third join for the education benefits, a third for job
opportunities and a third for service or discipline, said Lt. Col.
Greg Snapp of the Delaware Army National Guard.
Ramirez, a Puerto Rico native, signed up for the college money.
"If you want to be something in life, the military is the only way to
go," he said. "I don't want to end up another statistic because of
the area I live in. I don't want to end up a gangbanger or a drug
dealer. I want to be able to say I did something different."
This archive consists of a topically organized selection of
articles culled by members of the Counter-Recruitment List Serve from printed
publications and web sites. The archive is not complete. We have chosen
material relevant to the work of