COLUMN ONE
They're Talking Up Arms
Military recruiters are fortifying their outposts at high schools,
hoping a chummy familiarity will entice students to enlist.
Some decry the tactics.
By Erika Hayasaki, Times Staff Writer
Marine Sgt. Rick Carloss is as familiar to students as some teachers at Downey High School. He does push-ups with students during PE classes and plays in faculty basketball games. During lunch, he hands out key chains, T-shirts and posters that proclaim:
"Think of Me As Your New Guidance Counselor."
On a recent morning, Carloss drove his silver 1996 Mercedes-Benz from his recruiting station to the school two blocks away. A parking attendant waved him into the lot, saying, "Hi, dear."
Inside the attendance office, Carloss kissed two secretaries on their foreheads."I need you to summon a young man out of class for me," he told one."OK," she replied. "What's his name?"The young man, Gilbert Rodriguez, was an 18-year-old senior. He was enlisting in the Marines the next day. Carloss needed go over paperwork with him.
Walking through corridors, Carloss pounded a student's fist in greeting, chatted with another about a novel she was reading, shook hands with administrators.The sergeant entered the library and a student shouted: "Hey, Carloss!"
Such familiarity is what the Marines and Army believe they need if they are to keep their ranks replenished. As the conflict in Iraq entered its third year, the Marines missed their monthly recruiting goals in January through March for the first time in a decade, and the Army and the National Guard also fell short of their needs.
This year, the Army and the Marines plan not only to increase the number of recruiters, but also to penetrate high schools more deeply, especially those least likely to send graduates to college. For Carloss and other recruiters, part of the way has been cleared by the No Child Left Behind education law of 2002, which provides the military with students' home addresses and telephone numbers. It also guarantees that any school that allows college or job recruiters on campus must make the same provision for the military.
CONTINUED
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-recruit5apr05,0,5875265.story?coll=la-home-headlines
They're Talking Up Arms
Military recruiters are fortifying their outposts at high schools,
hoping a chummy familiarity will entice students to enlist.
Some decry the tactics.
By Erika Hayasaki, Times Staff Writer
Marine Sgt. Rick Carloss is as familiar to students as some teachers at Downey High School. He does push-ups with students during PE classes and plays in faculty basketball games. During lunch, he hands out key chains, T-shirts and posters that proclaim:
"Think of Me As Your New Guidance Counselor."
On a recent morning, Carloss drove his silver 1996 Mercedes-Benz from his recruiting station to the school two blocks away. A parking attendant waved him into the lot, saying, "Hi, dear."
Inside the attendance office, Carloss kissed two secretaries on their foreheads."I need you to summon a young man out of class for me," he told one."OK," she replied. "What's his name?"The young man, Gilbert Rodriguez, was an 18-year-old senior. He was enlisting in the Marines the next day. Carloss needed go over paperwork with him.
Walking through corridors, Carloss pounded a student's fist in greeting, chatted with another about a novel she was reading, shook hands with administrators.The sergeant entered the library and a student shouted: "Hey, Carloss!"
Such familiarity is what the Marines and Army believe they need if they are to keep their ranks replenished. As the conflict in Iraq entered its third year, the Marines missed their monthly recruiting goals in January through March for the first time in a decade, and the Army and the National Guard also fell short of their needs.
This year, the Army and the Marines plan not only to increase the number of recruiters, but also to penetrate high schools more deeply, especially those least likely to send graduates to college. For Carloss and other recruiters, part of the way has been cleared by the No Child Left Behind education law of 2002, which provides the military with students' home addresses and telephone numbers. It also guarantees that any school that allows college or job recruiters on campus must make the same provision for the military.
CONTINUED
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-recruit5apr05,0,5875265.story?coll=la-home-headlines
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 3:12 PM
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