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thedrifter
01-31-09, 07:15 AM
Economic hardship breeds recruiting rush for military
JEROME A. POLLOS/Press


By RICK THOMAS
Staff writer

HAYDEN -- The Marines are looking for lots of good men, and the job market is making it easier for them to be selective.

The same is true for the Army. Both branches of the U.S. military are asking their recruiters for more volunteers, and they are finding all they need and more.

"For the quarter January through March, our goal was 22," said Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Mason II, station commander for the Army's recruiting station in Hayden. "We have already put in 17."

A shortage of jobs has helped bring in more candidates in their 20s, Mason said.

The Marines are also hitting their national goal of increasing its numbers to 202,000 from 179,000 by 2011, and the Hayden recruiting office is on track to meet their numbers by February, said a recruiter there.

They are also being pickier, rejecting prospects with minor criminal records or those without high school diplomas who might have been considered in prior years. While requests for the Marine branch vary from month to month, meeting their quota has been easier in part due to good marketing and professional sales training of its recruiters, said Sgt. Charles Wahl.

"We usually do better than what they ask," he said.

Starting pay of $1,400 is, he said, "effectively spending money," as housing, healthcare, meals and clothing are all provided, tax-free. In the Army, it's a little more, at $1,500 per month.

"I didn't have a good job," said Pvt. Jacob Gray, 19, of Coeur d'Alene, who just returned from three months of boot camp in San Diego, Calif., after taking one summer off after graduation from high school. He felt his job loading trucks in Spokane was a dead end, so he signed up for training as a combat engineer.

After fulfilling his military obligation of four years, Gray will have the option of rejoining the civilian community with valuable job skills, or re-enlisting.

"He will get certified as a journeyman carpenter," Wahl said, allowing him to join the civilian workforce at union wages.

These days, promotions in rank, at least through the first few levels from the starting E-1 rank to E-4 status, with $1,800 per month in pay, come almost automatically, Mason said. After four years, they are not only eligible for GI Bill training worth $80,000 to $100,000 at any accredited college or trade school, the Army will also provide $40,000 for a down payment on a home through the Army's Advantage Fund, he said.

Christopher Empsall, 18, graduated from Coeur d'Alene High School last year, and on Friday was working on the final details for a delayed enlistment that will allow him to get himself in shape and join the Marines in August, after one last summer with his friends.

He had been unable to find a good job, so is signing on as a cryptographic linguist.

"The pay is through the roof once you get out," Empsall said.

Ellie