thedrifter
02-07-07, 06:17 AM
02/07/2007
Calling the few, the proud
By: Mark Tuscano
MTuscano@News-Herald.com
With the possibility of being sent overseas very real, military recruitment stays strong
Brett Goldizen was there neither for money nor the promises of the GI Bill, but out of pride and principle.
"I was attracted to the overall values the Marine Corps stands for: the discipline, honor, courage, commitment and physical aspects of it," said Brett, 17, of Perry Village.
Brett was one of a dozen teenagers at the Mentor Avenue military recruitment center last week, where enlistees gather once a month to prepare for the Marines' demanding 13-week basic training program.
Like most of these recruits, he made up his mind long ago to become a Marine and did not need the prompt of a call to arms; rather, he took the first opportunity to make the commitment.
But even earlier, Brett was a member of Young Marines youth education and service program for three years, climbing to the rank of sergeant. That achievement will entitle him to an automatic promotion to private first class after successful completion of basic training, he said.
He signed up in August and fulfilled his graduation requirements from Perry High School last month. By the end of February, Brett will be in Parris Island, S.C., to begin basic training.
"I'm absolutely looking forward to it. If I could leave tomorrow, I would. I can't wait to go," he said.
Military recruiters from all branches face the challenge of finding and enlisting more people like Brett at a time when an increasing number of U.S. troops are being deployed to Iraq.
While area recruiters or spokesmen for the Army, Navy and Air Force did not respond to The News-Herald's inquiries about recruiting and enlistment, the Marine Corps was forthright and prompt in its response.
Sgt. C.F. Flurry, marketing and public affairs spokesman stationed in Cleveland, said enlistment in the Marine Corps remains steady, based for the most part on the characteristics Brett outlined.
"Maybe a small percentage of recruits join for tangible reasons like the benefits, but the vast majority join to become Marines," Flurry said.
So, unlike some branches of the military, Marine Corps recruiters do not rely on sign-on bonuses or other guarantees to entice potential enlistees, he said.
Unlike most of the young men and women at the recruitment center, Joe Graziano, Brett's former classmate from Perry High School, decided to enlist in the Marines later than most.
For Graziano, 18, the decision came after meeting local Marine Corps recruiters at Perry High School Career Day last year.
"They came in and talked to us, and I was hooked; I wanted to be a Marine. I wasn't ready for college, so I thought this would help me," he said.
The recent call by President Bush for additional troops to be deployed to Iraq has not yet appreciably affected enlistment numbers, according to public affairs officers who were able to respond.
But generally, all branches are meeting recruitment goals, according to Department of Defense spokesman Army Lt. Col. Mark Ballesteros.
High school guidance counselors offer another perspective on who is enlisting and what the trends are.
"Enlistment is about the same as usual, except we have a few more kids trying to apply for (Reserve Officer Training Corps) scholarships," said Dan Litzinger, a Mentor High School counselor and coordinator who is in his 27th year at the school.
While more than 50 percent of Mentor High grads go on to college, about 5 percent of the students sign up for military service, Litzinger said. Last year, 39 of 800 students enlisted, including seven or eight to the ROTC program, according to the latest statistics available, he said.
"I've seen enlistment trends both up and down since I've been here," he said. "In the first Bush administration war, there were a lot of kids who wouldn't go in because their parents were concerned and didn't want them to get killed. But afterward, it loosened up. Then there was an advertisement campaign and it built up some more, but it fluctuates."
Painesville Township School District Director of Guidance Bev Lee hasn't seen a spike either.
"It's been consistent the last three or four years," she said. "Typically, about 2 percent go right out of high school, so that's out of about 380 students, about seven or eight enlist.
I haven't seen an increase. The kids that are signing up decided a long time ago. By now, in their senior year, they have already talked to a recruiter."
Of the dozen or so Marine Corps enlistees in Mentor last week, three were young women, including 18-year-old Riverside graduate Samantha Sickles, who was preparing to leave Feb. 18 for Parris Island.
Sickles has three brothers in the Marine Corps, and she decided to enlist when one of her brothers did, although she was just in the eighth grade at the time.
Sickles attends the monthly gatherings to get physically prepared for basic training, she said. Her brothers advised her to "shut up and listen to what the drill instructors tell me," she said.
But, she admits, they were concerned for her.
"They don't want anything to happen to me," she said.
Sickles, like Brett, enlisted for five years to pursue her chosen military occupational specialty: military intelligence. Others, like Graziano, who will train for the infantry, enlist for four years. It depends on the amount of time they will be in training for their occupational specialty, Flurry said.
Nearly 15 percent of all military personnel are women. Policy changes in the early 1990s addressing combat issues have increasingly allowed Army, Navy and Air Force women to serve in that capacity.
Women train separately from men recruits in Marine Corps boot camp, but go through identical training from day one, Flurry said.
There are slightly fewer women by percentage in the Marines, compared with other branches of the military, and they are limited by Congress in what specialties they can participate in.
They cannot join in the combat arms specialties, such as infantry or artillery, he said.
Ellie
Calling the few, the proud
By: Mark Tuscano
MTuscano@News-Herald.com
With the possibility of being sent overseas very real, military recruitment stays strong
Brett Goldizen was there neither for money nor the promises of the GI Bill, but out of pride and principle.
"I was attracted to the overall values the Marine Corps stands for: the discipline, honor, courage, commitment and physical aspects of it," said Brett, 17, of Perry Village.
Brett was one of a dozen teenagers at the Mentor Avenue military recruitment center last week, where enlistees gather once a month to prepare for the Marines' demanding 13-week basic training program.
Like most of these recruits, he made up his mind long ago to become a Marine and did not need the prompt of a call to arms; rather, he took the first opportunity to make the commitment.
But even earlier, Brett was a member of Young Marines youth education and service program for three years, climbing to the rank of sergeant. That achievement will entitle him to an automatic promotion to private first class after successful completion of basic training, he said.
He signed up in August and fulfilled his graduation requirements from Perry High School last month. By the end of February, Brett will be in Parris Island, S.C., to begin basic training.
"I'm absolutely looking forward to it. If I could leave tomorrow, I would. I can't wait to go," he said.
Military recruiters from all branches face the challenge of finding and enlisting more people like Brett at a time when an increasing number of U.S. troops are being deployed to Iraq.
While area recruiters or spokesmen for the Army, Navy and Air Force did not respond to The News-Herald's inquiries about recruiting and enlistment, the Marine Corps was forthright and prompt in its response.
Sgt. C.F. Flurry, marketing and public affairs spokesman stationed in Cleveland, said enlistment in the Marine Corps remains steady, based for the most part on the characteristics Brett outlined.
"Maybe a small percentage of recruits join for tangible reasons like the benefits, but the vast majority join to become Marines," Flurry said.
So, unlike some branches of the military, Marine Corps recruiters do not rely on sign-on bonuses or other guarantees to entice potential enlistees, he said.
Unlike most of the young men and women at the recruitment center, Joe Graziano, Brett's former classmate from Perry High School, decided to enlist in the Marines later than most.
For Graziano, 18, the decision came after meeting local Marine Corps recruiters at Perry High School Career Day last year.
"They came in and talked to us, and I was hooked; I wanted to be a Marine. I wasn't ready for college, so I thought this would help me," he said.
The recent call by President Bush for additional troops to be deployed to Iraq has not yet appreciably affected enlistment numbers, according to public affairs officers who were able to respond.
But generally, all branches are meeting recruitment goals, according to Department of Defense spokesman Army Lt. Col. Mark Ballesteros.
High school guidance counselors offer another perspective on who is enlisting and what the trends are.
"Enlistment is about the same as usual, except we have a few more kids trying to apply for (Reserve Officer Training Corps) scholarships," said Dan Litzinger, a Mentor High School counselor and coordinator who is in his 27th year at the school.
While more than 50 percent of Mentor High grads go on to college, about 5 percent of the students sign up for military service, Litzinger said. Last year, 39 of 800 students enlisted, including seven or eight to the ROTC program, according to the latest statistics available, he said.
"I've seen enlistment trends both up and down since I've been here," he said. "In the first Bush administration war, there were a lot of kids who wouldn't go in because their parents were concerned and didn't want them to get killed. But afterward, it loosened up. Then there was an advertisement campaign and it built up some more, but it fluctuates."
Painesville Township School District Director of Guidance Bev Lee hasn't seen a spike either.
"It's been consistent the last three or four years," she said. "Typically, about 2 percent go right out of high school, so that's out of about 380 students, about seven or eight enlist.
I haven't seen an increase. The kids that are signing up decided a long time ago. By now, in their senior year, they have already talked to a recruiter."
Of the dozen or so Marine Corps enlistees in Mentor last week, three were young women, including 18-year-old Riverside graduate Samantha Sickles, who was preparing to leave Feb. 18 for Parris Island.
Sickles has three brothers in the Marine Corps, and she decided to enlist when one of her brothers did, although she was just in the eighth grade at the time.
Sickles attends the monthly gatherings to get physically prepared for basic training, she said. Her brothers advised her to "shut up and listen to what the drill instructors tell me," she said.
But, she admits, they were concerned for her.
"They don't want anything to happen to me," she said.
Sickles, like Brett, enlisted for five years to pursue her chosen military occupational specialty: military intelligence. Others, like Graziano, who will train for the infantry, enlist for four years. It depends on the amount of time they will be in training for their occupational specialty, Flurry said.
Nearly 15 percent of all military personnel are women. Policy changes in the early 1990s addressing combat issues have increasingly allowed Army, Navy and Air Force women to serve in that capacity.
Women train separately from men recruits in Marine Corps boot camp, but go through identical training from day one, Flurry said.
There are slightly fewer women by percentage in the Marines, compared with other branches of the military, and they are limited by Congress in what specialties they can participate in.
They cannot join in the combat arms specialties, such as infantry or artillery, he said.
Ellie