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thedrifter
04-22-07, 09:03 AM
Apr 22, 2007

Semper fi(t)
Teens get a taste of Marine life at Devens

By Kevin Keenan TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Chris Carton, 17, of Worcester will graduate from Tahanto Regional High School this spring, but instead of priming his X-box skills for college, he and dozens of Worcester County youths are preparing for the sand fleas and grueling heat of Parris Island, S.C., home of the U.S. Marine Corps boot camp.

Mr. Carton and about 150 area high schoolers, known as "poolies," trained with area Marine recruiters at the Devens Reserve Forces Training Area on a recent raw Saturday to get a taste of life to come. The poolies aren't yet recruits, but have either signed up for the Marine Corps' delayed entry program or are thinking about it.

With an unpopular and messy war in Iraq, the military recruiter's job must be harder than ever for America's all-volunteer ranks, right?

Not so, said Staff Sgt. Eugene Dold, a Marine who works at the Worcester recruiting office at 255 Park Ave.

Worcester County is "Marine friendly," said Gunnery Sgt. Scott Ely. That means the area exceeds its recruitment goals and regularly sends the highest percentage of recruits of any Northeast recruiting office to Parris Island for boot camp. While he could not provide the numbers, he said his recruiters are doing excellent work.

The U.S. Department of Defense's recruiting numbers for last month show that military recruitment either met or exceeded its targets in the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines. The Marines signed 1,936 new recruits nationally, exceeding its goal of 1,787, according to the DOD.

Roughly 180,000 Americans a year need to be recruited for active duty to maintain an all-volunteer military.

After the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Government Accountability Office reported that, from 2004 to 2005, complaints of recruiting irregularities among all service branches increased from about 4,400 to 6,600. The GAO suggested that the Iraq war may have tempted recruiters to lower their standards for signing new recruits and to resort to high-pressure tactics to make their quotas. The GAO report said attracting sufficient numbers of high-quality recruits to military service "has proven to be one of the greatest personnel challenges faced by the Department of Defense" since the inception of the all-volunteer military 34 years ago.

The report recommended that the military take a Marine-like approach to evaluating recruiters: Rate them on the success of their recruit retention rate. This means wait until a recruit completes basic training before claiming success. The Marines are the only military branch to include recruit retention rates in recruiter job evaluations, according to the GAO.

One factor for the steady recruitment may be that the Iraq war isn't as unpopular among young people as it is among seniors. A recent New York Times/CBS poll reported that 48 percent of Americans ages 18 to 29 believe the Iraq war is right, compared to 28 percent of those age 65 or older.

The local poolies all have their reasons for exploring a military option, although none said the Iraq war was a concern or possible deterrent. Some, like Mr. Carton, said they want the physical and mental challenge of becoming a soldier, while others said they wanted to learn a specific skill.

A small percentage of Marines are strictly infantry. Of the 176,000 active duty Marines, about 33,000 are infantry soldiers, though the corps is famous for making every member of its ranks a rifleman first. It is the only branch of the military that requires recruits to pass rifle marksmanship during basic training.

Which brings us back to the Devens Reserve Forces Training Area on a cold and raw April day.

The poolies "snapped and popped" to the barking commands of an acting drill sergeant, ran a 1-1/2-mile obstacle course, crawled under barbed wire, and formed a human bridge. When they were done, they were given 5 minutes to eat that military delicacy known as the MRE, an acronym for meals ready to eat, while seated in rows on a dirt lot.

And then they combed every square inch of that dirt lot for any speck of trash, before they could pile into the vans and buses to take them home.

Most of the poolies were there because they are already committed to the Marines, but not all of them will be accepted. Gunnery Sgt. Ely reminded the young men and women that they need to graduate from high school before they can go to Parris Island, and suggested that "25 percent of you are not going to make it."

"Get it taken care of," he urged them.

Xiong Her, 19, graduated from Doherty High School last year. He wants to enlist in the Marines, but he can't start basic training until he can run 1.5 miles in 13:30 or less and do 44 crunches. He participates in poolie workouts at the Marines' Worcester recruiting office on the third floor of a Park Avenue office building. He said he wants to go, but he does not have the physical skills to get there and was told he can't go until he does. His date to leave Worcester for Parris Island has been delayed twice, and a third is nearing; he's unsure whether he's going.

"I want to try something different. I want to do something different," he said.

Gilberto Flores, 17, plays center field for the North High School baseball team. He's a junior and in the high school's Navy ROTC program. He plans to join the Marines after high school graduation. Some of his relatives are Marines, and he is drawn to its regimented, disciplined way of life. He said the Iraq war was never a factor in his decision.

"It's not like the civilian world. They don't tolerate drugs and they expect good conduct. I want a challenge. This is a good life to live."

Chelsea Augusto, 16, also a junior at North High School, said she is curious about the Marines and has participated in poolie workouts and events to get a taste. Before she started working out, Staff Sgt. Dold said, Ms. Augusto could not do a single chin-up, but now she can do six. She looked at another poolie, Michael Jette, a senior at Worcester Technical High School, and said, "I want guns like him!"

"They pull things out of you that you didn't even know you had," Ms. Augusto said.

Mr. Jette said he eats five, maybe six, times a day, but appears to be quite jacked despite his ravenous appetite. "I eat a lot of Subway; it's low fat."

He plans to go to boot camp this summer, but then attend American International College in Springfield next fall to study business. He plans to remain in the Marines Reserve program through college, and then go active duty after graduation.

Some of the Marine recruiters were sizing up the poolies and were drawn to a young kid with pork-chop sideburns and a long, flowing mane of blond hair. He looked like one of the Allman Brothers.

"His life is gonna change," one Marine said.

"Oh, man, that kid has to be from Providence," said another. "Some of these kids can't run. They're gonna be in trouble."

The group included mostly young men, and a handful of young women. Many were in shape, athletic and raring to go.

The first test on the obstacle course is a 40-yard sprint to a 7-foot wall, which you have to clear using your hands and feet. Some of the poolies flew over that wall, barely breaking stride, while some others needed assistance. But that's part of being a Marine: They reinforce teamwork, there are no individuals here, just a group, and everyone in the group works together, even on a seemingly solo activity such as running an obstacle course. If you can make it over the wall, but your partner can't, you have to help him over, or else you just won't cut it in the Marines.

Reporter Kevin Keenan can be reached at kkeenan@telegram.com

Ellie