Recruiting for military life a challenge on LI

BY DENISE M. BONILLA | Newsday Staff Writer

January 14, 2007

Pfc. Michael Farrell is home on 10 days leave after boot camp and visiting the U.S. Marine Corps Center recruiting station. He is with Sgt. Johnathan Rose (seated); Gunnery Sgt. John P. Dott Jr., station commander; Sgt. Lazaro Arocha, and Sgt. Vicente Gomez. (Newsday / Bill Davis)

Quiet, reserved and compact, the 27-year-old recruiter walks with a steady gait through the crowds of shoppers at the Smith Haven Mall, his presence striking only because of the crisp dress uniform he wears adorned with gleaming buttons and a row of ribbons marking his career.

Marine Sgt. Vincente Gomez's eyes dart from side to side as he walks past the stores. He is a man on a mission, looking for young people to enlist among those eating Cinnabons and buying jeans at the Gap. Some shoppers stop to shake his hand and thank him for his service. Others avert eye contact as he nears.

"Sometimes it's hard to approach," Gomez says. "It's like an invasion of their privacy. But you have to do it, because you never know. The kid could be interested and never knew where to find the information."

Finding and signing qualified enlistees is never easy, and as the war in Iraq nears its fourth anniversary, area recruiters said the job of filling today's all-volunteer ranks has become even harder.

In the last week, troop demand increased as President George W. Bush called for 21,500 more soldiers to bolster the effort in Iraq and the war against terrorism. This comes after a particularly deadly few months in Iraq. And last week, the military settled a court battle with the New York Civil Liberties Union over its data collection practices for contacting young people.

The handful of local recruiters Newsday spent time with in recent weeks all said the No. 1 obstacle to signing up qualified recruits is mom and dad. And their biggest concern is the war.

"The only thing they ever see is their son or daughter in a Kevlar helmet ... walking through the streets of Baghdad," said Patchogue Army recruiting station commander Sgt. 1st Class Greg Gottner.

That imagery is hard to overcome, he said.

"There's no such thing as an easy parental consent," said Gomez's boss, Marine Gunnery Sgt. John Dott, 40, Smithtown recruiting station commander.

Parent problem

Gomez found that out on his first home visit when he arrived in Smithtown six months ago. After talking to an interested student over the phone, Gomez made an appointment to meet at the boy's house without first clearing it with his parents. The father greeted him at the door holding a gun and ordering him to leave.

"I said, 'Whoa, calm down. This is not worth it,'" Gomez recalled.

Area recruiters who have worked the job elsewhere said Long Island is an especially tough environment.

"They respect the uniform as long as someone else is wearing it," said Gottner, who has worked in South Florida.

To be sure, the military has support here. There are thriving junior ROTC programs in roughly 10 percent of Long Island high schools, and area recruiters say young people here are respectful and often enthusiastic upon learning about military opportunities.

Alexandra Martinez, 21, of Hicksville, is preparing to leave for Air Force basic training in Texas. "I'm more excited than anything," she said of her decision to join. "If I can do this, it'll be a huge accomplishment."

She finished two semesters at Nassau Community College, but decided college wasn't for her. She wants to become a police officer.

The prospect of serving in Iraq didn't deter her. "It's part of the job. Someone's got to do it," she said.

In the military year that ended Sept. 30, 4,789 recruits from the New York metropolitan area were signed up by about 400 military recruiters. The Army signed 1,869 new local recruits, the Navy 1,630, the Marines 1,078 and the Air Force 212. (Each branch uses a different reporting region.)

Area recruiters averaged 11.9 recruits for 2006, while the national average was 12.3. Nationally, roughly 14,000 recruiters signed up 180,540 new recruits, according to the Department of Defense.