thedrifter
04-30-06, 08:56 AM
Posted on Sun, Apr. 30, 2006
‘I wanted more purpose in my life’
By CHUCK CRUMBO
ccrumbo@thestate.com
S.C. RECRUITS’ REASONS FOR JOINING UP
Michael Robinson worked at Bose Corp.’s Blythewood plant for $8.25 an hour plugging components into amplifiers. Then, he was laid off.
The 18-year-old, who graduated from Sumter High School a year ago, reconsidered his options and joined the Army.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do since the sixth grade,” said Robinson, who left this month for basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
While 99 percent of his peers opted to go to college or just hang out at the mall, Robinson and hundreds of other young men and women in South Carolina want to be in uniform.
They volunteered knowing there’s at least a 70 percent chance that they will end up in a combat zone before the end of their first year in uniform, knowing that more than 2,000 U.S. troops have died in Iraq.
That war has made recruiting an all-volunteer military more difficult. Still, all branches of the U.S. military reached their recruiting goals for the first half of the 2006 fiscal year, Oct. 1, 2005, through March 30.
Robinson’s story is typical, but others have different motivations for joining.
Some cite a need for a paycheck to support themselves and a family. Others are attracted by hefty bonuses, promises of college money and a better future.
“It will look good on your resume because the military gives a young person a lot of responsibility,” said Ray Gibson, 17, of Sumter. The Crestwood High School junior already has enlisted in the Army under the delayed entry program.
His 18-year-old brother, Troy Gibson, also has enlisted in the Army.
“I feel like it will be a great experience for me. I’ll get to travel and get to see the world.”
Then, there are some who say they are not ready for college.
“I wanted more purpose in my life,” said Kyle Page, a Marine Corps recruit who will turn 18 the day after he graduates from Blythewood High School on May 23.
“I wanted to do something that wasn’t entirely for myself, and I saw serving my country as a way to do that.”
Another young person who will be raising his right hand and swearing his allegiance to the commander-in-chief is 18-year-old Brian Gutknecht Jr., of West Columbia.
The tall, blond-haired teen, who will graduate in May from Brookland-Cayce High School, already has signed up with the Marines and will head to Parris Island for boot camp in October.
Gutknecht doesn’t believe he’s doing anything all that special.
“Everybody should serve in the military or do some kind of public service,” Gutknecht said.
A TOUGH SELL
The military’s success in recruiting comes despite a growing job market that competes for workers.
College, however, is the overwhelming choice of high school seniors and their parents. About 70 percent of high school graduates go to college, according to a recent Army study.
The military’s recruiting efforts also are hamstrung because nearly three-fourths of the 32.1 million Americans between the ages of 17 and 24 are not eligible to serve, according to an Army report.
More than half are disqualified for weight, medical or moral reasons, or because they have dependents. The rest don’t make the grade because they either lack enough education or simply are not smart enough.
Recruiters must find the 150,000 recruits a year the military needs from remaining 27 percent of the 17-24 population — about 8.6 million people.
PERSUADING PARENTS
The decision to join the military seldom is made in a vacuum.
Recruits interviewed said they discussed their choice with parents, relatives who are or were in uniform, and other adults, such as teachers and clergy.
Sometimes the idea of joining the military takes parents by surprise.
“I thought it was an outrageous idea at the moment,” said Toni Page, mother of Marine recruit Kyle Page. “I never thought Kyle was going go in that direction.”
“Yeah, I was,” Kyle interrupted. “You just never listened.”
“Yeah, I guess maybe you did,” said his mother, who thought Kyle would head to college instead of boot camp.
Kyle’s father, Stanley Page, also said he was also caught off-guard by his son’s interest in the Marines.
“I was angry,” Stanley Page said. “We had so many years of reading and studying together, enjoying the common ground. This was something so alien to me, I couldn’t even think about it.”
Eventually the Pages came to accept their son’s decision after much soul-searching.
“The more I got to know him, the people who recruited him, friends who are going with him, the more I realized that this was the best thing for him,” Stanley Page said.
At the Gutknecht kitchen table in West Columbia, mom was apprehensive when Brian Jr. announced his plans to enlist.
“I was a little scared about it at first, but I got educated on the Marines,” said the recruit’s mother, Cyndy. “And I did a lot of praying about it.”
His father, Brian Gutknecht Sr., was in the Air Force in the 1970s. He understood what his son wanted.
“I did it myself, so I knew what the military did for me,” Brian Gutknecht Sr. said, praising the military for its discipline.
Like most military parents, Cyndy Gutknecht said she has come to accept her son’s decision.
“He’s pretty much got his head on straight — always has,” Cyndy Gutknecht said. “We support him all the way.”
Peers might be harder to win over than parents, the recruits said.
“You’re going to get killed,” Brian Gutknecht Jr. said, quoting most of friend’s reaction. But, he added, “It’s not one of those things I think about much.”
Khayla Williams said people need to keep things in perspective when they talk about the military.
The 17-year-old Sumter High School student, who already has enlisted in the Army, said her uncle has been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq.
“The media makes it look like it’s really bad, but he has explained to me that it’s not that bad. It’s like a regular job, they say.”
Before he left for Fort Leonard Wood, Michael Robinson shrugged off concerns about the prospects of being deployed to a combat zone.
It comes with the job, he said.
“If you’re going to go into the military, you have to understand that’s part of the oath you take.
“People say when you join the military, you’re asking to get killed. But I could pull up to the stoplight and get killed by an 18-wheeler.”
Reach Crumbo at (803) 771-8503.
Ellie
‘I wanted more purpose in my life’
By CHUCK CRUMBO
ccrumbo@thestate.com
S.C. RECRUITS’ REASONS FOR JOINING UP
Michael Robinson worked at Bose Corp.’s Blythewood plant for $8.25 an hour plugging components into amplifiers. Then, he was laid off.
The 18-year-old, who graduated from Sumter High School a year ago, reconsidered his options and joined the Army.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do since the sixth grade,” said Robinson, who left this month for basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
While 99 percent of his peers opted to go to college or just hang out at the mall, Robinson and hundreds of other young men and women in South Carolina want to be in uniform.
They volunteered knowing there’s at least a 70 percent chance that they will end up in a combat zone before the end of their first year in uniform, knowing that more than 2,000 U.S. troops have died in Iraq.
That war has made recruiting an all-volunteer military more difficult. Still, all branches of the U.S. military reached their recruiting goals for the first half of the 2006 fiscal year, Oct. 1, 2005, through March 30.
Robinson’s story is typical, but others have different motivations for joining.
Some cite a need for a paycheck to support themselves and a family. Others are attracted by hefty bonuses, promises of college money and a better future.
“It will look good on your resume because the military gives a young person a lot of responsibility,” said Ray Gibson, 17, of Sumter. The Crestwood High School junior already has enlisted in the Army under the delayed entry program.
His 18-year-old brother, Troy Gibson, also has enlisted in the Army.
“I feel like it will be a great experience for me. I’ll get to travel and get to see the world.”
Then, there are some who say they are not ready for college.
“I wanted more purpose in my life,” said Kyle Page, a Marine Corps recruit who will turn 18 the day after he graduates from Blythewood High School on May 23.
“I wanted to do something that wasn’t entirely for myself, and I saw serving my country as a way to do that.”
Another young person who will be raising his right hand and swearing his allegiance to the commander-in-chief is 18-year-old Brian Gutknecht Jr., of West Columbia.
The tall, blond-haired teen, who will graduate in May from Brookland-Cayce High School, already has signed up with the Marines and will head to Parris Island for boot camp in October.
Gutknecht doesn’t believe he’s doing anything all that special.
“Everybody should serve in the military or do some kind of public service,” Gutknecht said.
A TOUGH SELL
The military’s success in recruiting comes despite a growing job market that competes for workers.
College, however, is the overwhelming choice of high school seniors and their parents. About 70 percent of high school graduates go to college, according to a recent Army study.
The military’s recruiting efforts also are hamstrung because nearly three-fourths of the 32.1 million Americans between the ages of 17 and 24 are not eligible to serve, according to an Army report.
More than half are disqualified for weight, medical or moral reasons, or because they have dependents. The rest don’t make the grade because they either lack enough education or simply are not smart enough.
Recruiters must find the 150,000 recruits a year the military needs from remaining 27 percent of the 17-24 population — about 8.6 million people.
PERSUADING PARENTS
The decision to join the military seldom is made in a vacuum.
Recruits interviewed said they discussed their choice with parents, relatives who are or were in uniform, and other adults, such as teachers and clergy.
Sometimes the idea of joining the military takes parents by surprise.
“I thought it was an outrageous idea at the moment,” said Toni Page, mother of Marine recruit Kyle Page. “I never thought Kyle was going go in that direction.”
“Yeah, I was,” Kyle interrupted. “You just never listened.”
“Yeah, I guess maybe you did,” said his mother, who thought Kyle would head to college instead of boot camp.
Kyle’s father, Stanley Page, also said he was also caught off-guard by his son’s interest in the Marines.
“I was angry,” Stanley Page said. “We had so many years of reading and studying together, enjoying the common ground. This was something so alien to me, I couldn’t even think about it.”
Eventually the Pages came to accept their son’s decision after much soul-searching.
“The more I got to know him, the people who recruited him, friends who are going with him, the more I realized that this was the best thing for him,” Stanley Page said.
At the Gutknecht kitchen table in West Columbia, mom was apprehensive when Brian Jr. announced his plans to enlist.
“I was a little scared about it at first, but I got educated on the Marines,” said the recruit’s mother, Cyndy. “And I did a lot of praying about it.”
His father, Brian Gutknecht Sr., was in the Air Force in the 1970s. He understood what his son wanted.
“I did it myself, so I knew what the military did for me,” Brian Gutknecht Sr. said, praising the military for its discipline.
Like most military parents, Cyndy Gutknecht said she has come to accept her son’s decision.
“He’s pretty much got his head on straight — always has,” Cyndy Gutknecht said. “We support him all the way.”
Peers might be harder to win over than parents, the recruits said.
“You’re going to get killed,” Brian Gutknecht Jr. said, quoting most of friend’s reaction. But, he added, “It’s not one of those things I think about much.”
Khayla Williams said people need to keep things in perspective when they talk about the military.
The 17-year-old Sumter High School student, who already has enlisted in the Army, said her uncle has been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq.
“The media makes it look like it’s really bad, but he has explained to me that it’s not that bad. It’s like a regular job, they say.”
Before he left for Fort Leonard Wood, Michael Robinson shrugged off concerns about the prospects of being deployed to a combat zone.
It comes with the job, he said.
“If you’re going to go into the military, you have to understand that’s part of the oath you take.
“People say when you join the military, you’re asking to get killed. But I could pull up to the stoplight and get killed by an 18-wheeler.”
Reach Crumbo at (803) 771-8503.
Ellie