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thedrifter
09-17-06, 08:16 AM
Patriotism draws Hispanics to serve

Web Posted: 09/17/2006 12:09 AM CDT

James Pinkerton
Houston Chronicle

BROWNSVILLE — Teenager Delia Gutierrez likes designer jeans, colorful tops and pointy high heels. But when she reports to boot camp next month, the 18-year-old Mexican immigrant will be styling in Marine Corps fatigues.

Gutierrez, whose parents brought her to Brownsville when she was an infant, said she wants to repay her adopted country.

"I got an education here. I have clothes and everything I need because I live in a rich society," she said. "I might as well give back to the country."

Despite the risks of going to war, rising numbers of Hispanics are joining the U.S. armed forces, recruiters say. They made up, for instance, about a fifth of Navy enlistments over the past nine months.

Many recruits are driven by patriotism and family tradition, along with the prospect of government aid for college and sign-up bonuses that together can exceed $100,000, recruiters say.

"Hispanics are a very patriotic people, and proud to serve their country," said Catherine Jung, an Air Force spokeswoman who reports that Latinos jumped from 4.5 percent of those entering basic training in 2002 to 13.5 percent in 2005.

Marketing and advertising are helping drive the rise in Latino recruits, said Maj. Wes Hayes, a spokesman for the U.S. Marine Corps recruitment command in Quantico, Va. "We do pamphlets, and our commercials are routinely aired on Spanish-speaking television outlets."

The Marines' outreach programs in Hispanic communities focus on "influencers," that is, the teachers, counselors and coaches who might recommend the military to a graduating high school student, Hayes said.

And while the military has been an escape from the hardships of the barrio for many years, the financial incentives today are stronger than ever.

Inducements include sign-up bonuses of up to $40,000, especially for jobs in hard-to-fill occupations such as linguists. And the 60-year-old GI bill provides veterans with nearly $38,000 in monthly benefits to attend college, which can be supplemented with work-study programs.

But many South Texas youth sign up for a simpler reason: Family tradition.

"I have three cousins in the military," said Julio Tovar, 17, a high school senior in Brownsville.

Volunteering for combat duty is often part of the tradition, said Salvador Salinas, director of the Cameron County Veterans Office.

"Chances are their father, brother or uncles, have been on the front lines," said Salinas, an Army special forces veteran who served in Vietnam. "And if you're in the Marines, you don't want to say, 'I want to be an administrator.'

"And when they're 18, they think they're invincible. That's why there won't be a shortage in recruitments."

Ellie