COUNTERING MILITARY RECRUITMENT
Articles: Military Recruiting: Recruiting in Rural Areas
Recruiters report robust returns
Rachel Boyd, Times-Record
August 31, 2007
BRUNSWICK As the military recruiting year draws to a close nextmonth, recruiters both around the country and locally are celebrating
what they call a mission well accomplished.
Recruiters, in some cases with the help of new cash incentives, say
they have succeeded in attracting hundreds of Mainers to military
jobs in wartime.
In the last few years, ac-cording to local Army and Marine Corps
recruiters, the number of Mainers enlisting has remained steady. The
Army's new "quick ship" bonus, introduced in July, gives recruits the
chance to earn $20,000 if they agree to go to basic training by the
end of September. However, local recruiters and enlistees claim that
cash plays a small role in their determination to enter the military.
Army of 339
In the Oct. 1, 2006, to Sept. 30, 2007, fiscal year, Maine's 38 Army
recruiters have already achieved 89.6 percent, or 339 recruits, of
its mission of putting 445 recruits into full-time status, said J.C.
Allard, chief of advertising and public affairs for the U.S. Army
Recruiting Battalion-New England, on Aug. 29.
With a month to go, the Maine Army Reserve has already surpassed its
goal of recruiting six more than the Army's original goal of 61
enlistees, Allard said.
Locally in what is defined as the Portland-Brunswick area
recruiters have accomplished 100 percent, or 18 enlistees, of their
Army Reserve mission and 91.4 percent of their regular Army mission.
Although those numbers are only a small part of the Army's nationwide
recruiting goal this year of 80,000 regular enlistees and 26,500
reservists, Allard said he is proud but not surprised by the work
local recruiters have accomplished.
The new $20,000 bonus, he said, is not a determining factor in this
year's success. A bonus such as the Army's is relatively common in
the business world, he said, and the Army is using it as a tool just
as any other business would.
Sgt. Fsc. Michael Welsh, station commander for the Brunswick Army
recruiting station, agreed.
"It's a great incentive, and it's a great recruiting tool, but I
don't see people joining just because of that," Welsh said.
Joining up
Even if recruiters are right about new soldiers' motivations in
joining the military, money certainly plays a part in many recruits' decisions.
Pvt. Timothy Kippenberger, 21, of Dresden, just returned from 11
weeks of basic training in Oklahoma. Now that he's back in Maine, the
Wiscasset High School graduate said he's looking forward to starting
work toward a college degree.
"The G.I. Bill will basically pay for classes, so I can get it
without having to worry about paying for it," Kippenberger said.
For other local recruits, education is a secondary goal.
Walter Miller, 17, a Richmond native entering his senior year of high
school, just returned from a summer of basic training with the Army
Reserves in Fort Knox, Ky. This training means that when he graduates
next spring, he will be able to go on immediately to service with the
Army, he said.
Miller's time at Fort Knox solidified his decision to join the Army.
"This country's at war right now, and I could have taken the easy way
out and gone to college," Miller said. "I'm grateful to live in a
country that allows people to go on to college, and if I want to go
on to college later, I can, so I decided I'd serve instead. … The
United States is a great place to live and I'm willing to defend it."
Local Marine Corps recruiters say they too have seen constant
interest, even though the Marines are not offering a bonus such as the Army's.
"We've had to turn away more people than we've enlisted," said
Gunnery Sgt. Tym Bunnell, a Marine Corps recruiter in Brunswick.
Bunnell said he thinks the Marines have no need to offer quick ship
bonuses such as the Army's.
"Quite honestly, with the Marines, they either want to be a Marine or
they don't," Bunnell said. "The Marine Corps is not going to put that
type of money out there just to convince kids to go to boot camp. …
As far as I know, the Marine Corps absolutely has no plans to
institute something like that."
Although exact numbers of local Marine recruits were unavailable at
press time, national officials said they are on track to meet this
year's nationwide recruiting goal of 41,227 active duty and reservist
Marines. By Aug. 28, the Marines had recruited approximately 35,000
so far this fiscal year, Marine Core Recruiting Command spokesperson
Mjr. Wes Hayes said.
Historically, about 175 Mainers become Marines every year, Hayes said.
"Recruiting is a marathon; it's not a sprint," Hayes said. "You have
to be there for the long term and make sure that you are informing
young men and women about the opportunities they have."
In the schools
Guidance counselors from local high schools said they too have seen a
steady number of students joining the military.
Paula Smith, a guidance counselor at Freeport High School, said that
on average, between two and six students in a graduating class of
about 100 enter the military. Michael Wing, a guidance counselor at
Richmond High School, said that most years between three and five
students out of a 45- or 50-member class enter the military.
"For some kids, it's a chance to get away from Richmond," Wing said.
"The part about seeing the world is a big deal, and there are great
educational and financial opportunities. "
Former Marine Jo Wrede of Lisbon said she is not at all surprised by
Marine recruiters' success.
"When we are given a mission, we don't quit until that task is
accomplished, " Wrede said. "I know with the Marine Corps, in their
recruiting they seldom miss their mission because it's not an option
to miss it."
Wrede served in the Marines herself in the early 1980s. She still
remembers her years in the Marines as fundamental in developing her
character, confidence and self-discipline.
"If you can get through boot camp, there's not anything you can't
do," Wrede said.
Though Wrede is no longer a Marine herself, she is now the proud
mother of one. Her son, Max Wrede, just finished boot camp in April.
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