Recruiters sometimes face tough sell because of Iraq war

[Hoss68]

March 29, 2004

Recruiters sometimes face tough sell because of Iraq war

Associated Press


MORRISTOWN, N.J. — While statewide recruitment goals haven’t suffered because of the Army National Guard’s growing role in Iraq, some local recruiters say the war is making their jobs more difficult.

“The war is an issue,” Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Dwyer told the Daily Record of Parsippany. “Kids go home thinking they want to do it, and then their parents hear the word military and they think they’ll go to war.”

Since Operation Iraqi Freedom started last year, some 53,693 out of nearly 460,000 National Guard members have been mobilized.

Dwyer and another Morristown-based recruiter are charged with recruiting 54 young adults each year, and they count on enlisting half of those from area high schools and colleges. But some parents are balking.

“One mother said to me that her son could join when he was 18,” Dwyer said. “She said she wasn’t giving him her signature because if something happened to him, the guilt would be on her shoulders.”

One uncertain parent was Doreene Corbo, whose 22-year-old daughter, Melissa, joined the U.S. Army Reserves four years ago and now is serving in Iraq until April 2005.

Her younger daughter, 15-year-old Jessica Brasda, can’t sign up until she turns 17, but she filled out a National Guard questionnaire nonetheless when recruiters visited Boonton High School recently.

“It’s OK for now, but if things stay the same I might try to talk her out if it,” Corbo told the Daily Record.

Still, Lt. Col. Dennis Devery said emphasizing the message of homeland security and the benefits of military service made the first quarter of this year the most successful in four years. State law allows every member of the New Jersey National Guard to attend any state college or university tuition free.

Recruiters tell high school students there is a possibility they could someday be deployed overseas if they sign up for the National Guard.

Some teenagers said their desire to serve outweighed concerns about being sent to Iraq. “It doesn’t scare me,” said John Moreno, 19, a junior at Morristown High School who moved to New Jersey in 1999 from Colombia. “I just want to fight no matter what for this country. The U.S. gave me so many opportunities, I want to give back.”

[AndJusticeForAll]

I was at a party last weekend at my buddy's house. We were in the Guard together. Anyhow, his younger brother was there. He's 18 and I'd never met him before. He was all young, bright eyed, and bushy tailed. He was telling me after being introduced to me that he was going to Army basic this summer at Benning and he was just so proud and eager and happy. I told him how proud I was of him, and offered him encouragement and support. A few kids his age at the party were ragging on him a bit about it, acting like idiots and I noticed this. I called him over and said, "You see those kids? They're going nowhere in life. Don't listen to them." He smiled, and agreed. Then I made him do some pushups for not getting me a beer fast enough but it was all good, and he's gonna do just fine. I was so proud of him, and happy for him. He didn't need to be sold on service. He wants to go to Iraq. Good kid. Real good kid.