Thread: Military recruiters set sights on Hispanics

Military recruiters set sights on Hispanics

By Summer Harlow, The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal

For Abraham Ramirez, a 20-year-old with a child and an arrest record, the military represented his best shot at college and a career. For the military, Ramirez fit squarely in the target demographic: age 18 to 24 and Hispanic.

The military is zeroing in on Hispanics, running Spanish-language recruitment ads, offering English-as-a-second-language classes and fast-tracking citizenship applications.

The tactics, which recruiters say are aimed at making America's force look like its population, have helped lead to an increase in recruits. The percentage of Hispanics in the active Army grew to 12.6% in fiscal year 2006 from 10.5% in fiscal year 2001. As the military struggles to recruit and keep soldiers because of the war in Iraq, the increase is a welcome trend for the Pentagon.

But critics contend that recruiters mislead potential Hispanic recruits and their parents, who might not speak English. And, they say, Hispanics end up as cannon fodder.

A 2003 Pew Hispanic Center report found that Hispanics were over-represented in the most deadly frontline positions, making up nearly 18% of personnel who handled weapons directly.

Recruiters can give a distorted picture, glossing over the risks, said Jorge Mariscal, University of California-San Diego professor of Latino studies and a Vietnam War veteran who is a part of the Project on Youth and Non-Military Opportunities that counters military recruiters.

"With any high-powered salesman, you need to make sure you understand what you're getting into," he said. "Parents, first-generation immigrant parents, they probably do not understand all the fine points of what the recruiter's sales pitch is."

Spanish radio ads, aimed primarily at "influencers," or the recruits' families and friends, emphasize the benefits research has shown resonate most with Hispanics, such as being part of a larger Army family, the ability to succeed, and pride in service to country, said Gary Bishop, deputy director of strategic communications, marketing and outreach for the U.S. Army Accessions Command in Kentucky.

A military family is one of the things Staff Sgt. Betsy Valentin said she likes best about her service in the Delaware Air National Guard.

"There's this camaraderie," said Valentin, who was born in the Spanish-speaking U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. "I feel secure when I'm on base."

Because language can sometimes be a barrier within the Hispanic community, the National Guard is looking to launch a five-week English-as-a-second-language training program for promising enlistees. The Army already has an English-language training program in place.

Recruits don't have to be citizens, but they must be legal residents. Still, undocumented immigrants often look to the military as a way toward a legalized status.

A bipartisan proposal included in the immigration bill that died in Congress in June would have allowed undocumented students to gain legal status by completing two years of military service or college. The measure is expected to come before Congress as a stand-alone bill this fall.

For those here legally, President Bush in 2002 signed an executive order that fast-tracked citizenship applications for those who serve in the military.

It makes sense for the Army to focus on Hispanics, who make up the fastest-growing pool for military recruitment, said Bishop.

Hispanics represent only about 13% of the Army recruits but about 18% of the civilian population aged 18 to 24, according to Army statistics.

The reasons Hispanics are joining the military are not radically different than what drives any other youth to enlist, said Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Nye, a recruiter for the Delaware Army National Guard.

About a third join for the education benefits, a third for job opportunities and a third for service or discipline, said Lt. Col. Greg Snapp of the Delaware Army National Guard.

Ramirez, a Puerto Rico native, signed up for the college money.

"If you want to be something in life, the military is the only way to go," he said. "I don't want to end up another statistic because of the area I live in. I don't want to end up a gangbanger or a drug dealer. I want to be able to say I did something different."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/200 ... titialskip

I'd have no problem with anyone LEGALLY here joining the armed forces; but a language barrier isn't excusable. I don't want my son's life hinging on communication with someone he can't understand! And what about the arrest record in the first paragraph? I guess the military must be lowering it's standards?

Maybe I'm wierd......but I just don't see how non-citizens are a good thing for our armed services. We already KNOW they are working with terriorists and frankly.....I wouldn't want a questionable non-citizen watching my back.

Here they are whining about recruiters and not understanding things.....what on earth would they have done when there was a draft and you had no choice?