Local military recruitment stable

By OBI EZEKOYE
Collegian Staff Writer

Although State College military recruiters are feeling the effects of the nationwide drop in involvement, local programs are faring well in this poor recruitment atmosphere.

Army recruiters fell short of their goal by 800 soldiers, according to a recent CNN report for the 1998 fiscal year. Navy recruitment missed its mark by 7,000 sailors.

Locally, recruiting has not been suffering as much as the rest of the country. According to a Navy press release, the Navy Recruiting District Pittsburgh, which includes State College, attained 90 percent of its recruiting goal during the same year.

Reasons for this national trend are primarily attributed to the booming economy. National unemployment is at a historically low 4.3 percent. And because of higher parental income and more federal loans, scholarships and work-study programs, young people have more ways, other than the military, to pay for college.

"When the economy is good, (recruitment is) pretty bad. Some people are content with Wal-Mart or McDonalds-type jobs. People are content with what they're doing and it is hard to get them to leave," said Petty Officer James Matthews of State College's Navy recruiting station.

The attitude of people 17 to 21 years old has also changed in a way that is not conducive to military involvement.

"I don't like the idea of war," Melissa Herder (sophomore-architectural engineering) said.

Many young people are turned off by foreign assignments, said Gunnery Sgt. J.W. McPartland. John Calabro (junior-administration of justice) said his biggest deterrent from military service was "getting killed in some strange foreign country."

With these factors in mind, the Navy said in a press release that the present time is the toughest recruiting environment they have had since the draft ended.

Yet according to Steven L. Taylor of State College's Navy recruiting station, recruiting from the local office has remained consistent for a number of years. A major reason for this is Penn State, he said.

He estimated up to half the people recruited out of the station for enlistment programs are Penn State students. College life can make young people disillusioned, he said, and when students find themselves unable to deal with college life, academics or costs, they enlist.

Similarly, the State College Marine Corps recruitment station has also benefited from the presence of the university.

Marine Corps reserve programs are more sought after by students than enlistment programs, he said. Of the 89 positions for reservists that were filled out of the State College station last year, 40 percent were filled by students. The positions are more attractive to students, he said, because they are part-time positions and give valuable job experience.