Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2001 21:00:51 +0100 (BST) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Bobbie=20Crystal?= <peppaseeds-AT-yahoo.co.uk> Subject: AUT: newspaper article on enlistment Not sure if this has been on the list already: "younger people just don't have any patriotism" - Staff Sgt. Donald Wilson, a Marine Corps recruiter >http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/16/nyregion/16ENLI.html >New York Times >September 16, 2001 >THE SERVICES > >Despite National Emotion, There's No Rush to Enlist >By DAVID CAY JOHNSTON and AMY WALDMAN > >Workers at the collapse site in Lower Manhattan greeted President Bush by >chanting "U.S.A., U.S.A.!" At memorial sites, there have been spontaneous >outbreaks of "God Bless America." American flags sprout from window boxes >and moving trucks, on the helmets of rescue workers and the electronic >marquees of Times Square. > >Yet while the armed services report a spike in the number of people >inquiring about enlistment and a near-doubling in the visitors to the Army's >online recruiter chat room, they also report no rise in actual enlistments >since the attack. > >In contrast to the days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, when thousands of >young men got in line to sign up for combat, this time, with the apparent >loss of life much greater, there are no such lines. And many of the >expressions of interest have come from men too old to serve, according to >spokesmen for the national headquarters of all four recruiting commands. > >"These people in their 40's, these old guys, wanted to serve their country, >but the younger people just don't have any patriotism," said Staff Sgt. >Donald Wilson, a Marine Corps recruiter. The maximum age for Marine recruits >in most cases is 29. > >Patriotism is not always the driving force behind military enlistment. >Still, some argue that these days may represent a test for a generation >largely detached from the military. > >On Friday, James Young, 18, a high school senior from Rochester, joined the >Marines, the only person in the state's third-largest city to do so since >Tuesday. He said he had tried to persuade friends to sign up on Thursday and >was mocked. > >"They are all cowards, self-centered and afraid," said Mr. Young, a senior >at an alternative high school. "They just wanted to get an education, get >women and get drunk." > >Charles Moskos, a professor of military sociology at Northwestern >University, said the lack of enlistment reflected a trend of increasing >estrangement between the military and society. Baby boomers at least >grappled with whether to serve, even if many eventually did not. But since >the draft's repeal in 1972, only a small percentage of Americans have served >in the military, and even events like the Persian Gulf war failed to drive >many more to do so. > >"Flag-waving is not patriotism," Professor Moskos said. > >The flag wavers, of course, would say differently. On Wednesday, with the >sun shining, Midtown Manhattan looked as if it were gearing up for a Fourth >of July parade. Robert Negron was selling flags at the corner of 34th Street >and Seventh Avenue for $1 apiece, and selling out. > >"The Palestinians are waving theirs," he boomed out. "You should be waving >yours." > >His goal, he said, was to create a "snowball effect," and by Thursday, the >snowball was rolling. It was hard to go almost anywhere without seeing an >American flag. > >Evaluating enlistment last week by comparing it with Pearl Harbor may be >unfair, given that this time around, the nation's leaders have yet to decide >whom to fight or how. Also, most of those joining the military these days >are driven less by patriotism than the desire for educational benefits and >skills training. > >Still, last week's events seem certain to recalibrate the emotions even of >those already committed to serve. > >Joshua Sanders, 18, lives in New City, N.Y., and had been recruited, as he >put it last week, after weighing a military career for two years. On Friday, >picking up some forms at the Times Square recruiting station, he talked >about how the attack had strengthened his commitment. > >"After what I saw on the news," he said, "my blood started to boil." > >In the days since the attack, many people have called in to the country's >thousands of service recruiting centers to find out how to help. > >Maj. David C. Andersen of the Marine Corps said the corps' public affairs >office at 50th Street and Third Avenue had been getting 20 calls a day from >people saying they wanted to enlist. (For those interested: that office does >not process enlistments.) > >In many communities, the recruiting centers are the military's most visible >presence, a fact that also has military officials worried. Spokesmen for the >recruiting commands said they were taking increased precautions to ensure >the safety of their recruiters and the facilities. > >There are no such worries on the recruitment Web site for the Army, >goarmy.com, where the recruiter chat room was packed last week. The site is >logging about 743 visitors during a four-hour chat, up from 400 before the >attack, according to Mr. Smith. There have been 500 e-mail messages a day to >the Web site recently, up from 200. > >The postings Friday afternoon were fervent: "I want to help my country all I >can even if I have to die doing it!" > >"If I enlist now will I get a shot at those responsible for the terrorist >act?" > >"How do I become a sniper?" > >Many chat-room visitors said they lacked high school diplomas or had >criminal records, that they were over age or overweight, flat of foot or >pierced of tongue. They had questions: Would they be qualified? Could >standards be waived? > >Recruiters struggled to answer the flood of queries, generally saying that >each applicant would be judged individually. > >Still, many of the questions on the site were about re-enlistment, by men >older than the Army's customary age maximum of 34. > >"Veterans, God bless them, want to know what they can do," Mr. Smith said. >"But it's not for them to be a soldier again." >[end] ____________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free -AT-yahoo.co.uk address at http://mail.yahoo.co.uk or your free -AT-yahoo.ie address at http://mail.yahoo.ie --- from list aut-op-sy-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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