Recruiting New Soldiers With Money
"Targeting Teens for Troops," by Bill Hendrick. Full text here, except below:
Every day, squads of recruiters in impressively crisp uniforms cozy up to kids as young as 14 and 15 at schools, malls, pizza joints, bowling alleys and other teen hangouts, letting them know about the program, which allows anyone 17 or older to join and be paid monthly before they do a single push-up or hear a grizzled drill sergeant yell "double time."
The Georgia Guard has about 80 recruiters who operate out of 77 locations, targeting every high school in the state. No surprise, success has been greatest in schools where pupils come from middle and lower socioeconomic groups. The sergeants first get permission, then stalk campus grounds and school halls and make presentations, looking mostly for kids who are not headed to college and those who want to go but doubt they'll be able to afford it. ....
Money is the biggest incentive. A new private with no training can draw at least $159 per monthly meeting, and $597 for 15 days of summer camp. Promotions are doled out after basic, when monthly pay increases. A junior going to basic before senior year could easily earn $2,400 while training, then go back to school in the fall and earn higher pay for monthly drills, plus still more the next summer in AIT (advanced individual training). Unless mobilized, the youths can earn a hefty nest egg, then go to college or trade school on the Guard's dime.
For those youngsters who have no desire to go to college, recruiters explain that the Guard offers training in more than 200 fields. The Georgia Guard also promises to pay full tuition to any state college or technical school. And the tuition spigot can be turned on as soon as a youngster finishes basic training.
Hobson, for example, figures to earn $5,000 this summer attending 16 weeks of basic and AIT, then go to college, with her tuition paid by the Guard. "I could be mobilized, but probably not, so I'm planning for college," she says. Many go to basic training after their junior year, then AIT after graduation. "When you tell a kid he can come off the block and make money, they are like, "What?' " says recruiter Simmons. "They can earn a lot more than they could in a regular teen job. Most are in the hunt for college money." ....
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)