Leave the Dying to Others

Midland Reporter-Telegram
Even in president's hometown, recruiters can't reach goals

U.S. Army recruiter Sgt. Tomas Barrios flashed his debonair smile at hundreds of Lee High School students during a lunch hour last week. He greeted each student who walked by with a gentle salutation and a promotional key ring.

Hardly a single student smiled back.

A couple of students stopped dead in their tracks and hopped a few steps to change their course away from the table covered by an immaculately clean black tablecloth proclaiming the familiar "An Army of One" slogan.

Barrios' uniform - the camouflage of a soldier, the mirror-like shiny black boots, the impeccable appearance - was something they felt compelled to avoid.


To the average young person, recruiters said, camouflage equals war, which equals death. That notion has kicked at the shins of the Army and Army National Guard that so far have successfully manned, along with the other military branches, the largest conflict the all-volunteer force has undergone.

Without an end to involvement in Iraq in sight, can the United States complete the efforts there with strictly an all-volunteer military?

Even in President Bush's hometown, where decals announce support for troops on more bumpers than not and where a potent majority is behind the war, the thought of being on the front lines in the Middle East transforms a mind frame of support and patriotism to apprehension and fear, recruiters said.

One has to wonder how many of these kids engage in freeper-like behavior online. I sometimes visit sites young people are attracted to and there's never a shortage of bravado and pro-Bush demagoguery.

The apples never stray far from the tree. These kids are closer to their chickenhawk leaders than they'll probably ever realize; and for the few who do make the connection, something tells me they will remain oddly unaffected. What a pity SUVs run on fossil-based fuels and not cognitive dissonance.

The recruiters all said they are approached by strangers daily who offer a handshake of appreciation for serving. Those who are young, or those with young family members, typically immediately proclaim why they won't join the military as soon as they discover they are thanking a recruiter, they said.

Burton said he was thanked by a woman one day who told him she was delighted with how the Army is completing its tasks. He asked if she knew anyone who'd be interested in joining. She said a brisk "no" and hurried away, Burton said. He learned the next day that she has a 17-year-old son.

"There are a lot of patriots in Midland, but that's kind of strange because we don't always get the immediate feedback from that," Burton said. "It's like they love their country as long as it's not them in the Army."

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