Patriotism, educational opportunities drive armed forces recruitment

With Veterans Day approaching on Tuesday, several armed services branches shared how recruitment is going almost 100 years after Armistice Day was first celebrated in 1919.
Recruitment representatives from the Marine Corps, Army, Navy, Air Force and National Guard keep their eyes peeled for the best and the brightest, often incorporating social media into their search, and those looking to join the service want to serve their country and secure the funds to continue their education.
“Recruitment here in Acadiana has been phenomenal,” said Gunnery Sgt. Brian Ardoin with the Marine Corps Lafayette recruitment office. “Our mission has been successful, and we have no gaps in recruitment.”
Ardoin, a native of Pine Prairie, has been a Marine for 19 years. While the recruiter pinpointed the challenge of being a Marine as one of the top reasons he joined the Corps, those who enlist do so for many different reasons.
“Every person has their own unique reason for joining the Marine Corps,” Ardoin said. “I would say the commonality in all would be Pride of Belong and them wanting to be affiliated with what is known as the most elite branch in the world.”
“I think that in this area, the Marine Corps has an extraordinary ‘brand.’  Marines believe that they will be successful no matter what job they have or what education they receive, as long as we embrace our character. I think that is why the Marine Corps has been a success and why recruiting in this area has sustained the events in the world and the test of time.”
Through his service, Ardoin earned his undergraduate degree, two master’s degrees and is currently working toward his doctorate.
“With the GI Bill, I didn’t have to pay to go to college, and that was awesome,” Ardoin said.
According to Ardoin, recruiting can be seasonal, due to holidays, prom and graduation, and once such events have passed, interested individuals are more apt to sit down and plan for the future. In addition to visiting high schools, the Marine Corps is using social media to reach out to prospective recruits, and each Marine Corps recruiting substation has its own Facebook page to connect with people in their respective communities.
“In fact, it (social media) is a useful contributor to answering quick questions for those that are interested and (for) dispelling myths about the military,” Ardoin said. “We are able to make friends and act as mentors even if some individuals are not able to enlist.”
“It’s a great resource.”
After serving in the Corps, many former enlistees go on to various careers.
“Marines that do not follow their military occupation into the civilian sector utilize their leadership skills obtained in the Marine Corps to start a new occupation and have been extremely successful,” Ardoin said. “I have companies that come to my recruiting office requesting Marines to work and lead their companies.”
There is also no shortage of interested individuals on the doorstep of the Air Force recruitment office in Opelousas.
“We get a lot of walk-ins,” said Sgt. Benjamin Landreneau. “We do get a lot of leads from visiting local high schools, too. That has always been a helpful tool. We offer them opportunities they may not have been aware of before we go to visit the school.”
“Lots of kids at schools are interested in the serving their country. I’m from the area and grew up here, and I know what a lot of the kids here want -- the opportunity to travel.”
The Air Force also uses social media to reach prospective recruits, and each recruitment office has its own Facebook page.
“Facebook is a huge recruitment tool,” Landreneau said. “Those interested can reach out to us on our Facebook page and get our phone number. It’s a great tool.”
“It was definitely not around when I joined the Air Force,” Landreneau said, laughing.
Landreneau, of Mamou, enlisted in 2004, following in the footsteps of his father and an uncle.
“The events of 9/11 also had a big influence on me joining,” he said. “I felt patriotic like everyone else.”
While in the service, Landreneau has earned two associates degrees and trained and worked as an aerospace physiology technician.
“The Air Force is the only branch of the armed services that offers its own community college,” Landreneau said. “You start accruing college credit as soon as you start basic training, and it continues through your specialized training.”
“The attitude is that you have a full-time job and get to be a student full time as well. I got two associate degrees and didn’t have to pay a penny for them.”
While Landreneau works to recruit the next generation of airmen, his former comrades pursue careers in the public and private sectors.
According to Sgt. Maj. Eric Huff with the Louisiana National Guard, Camp Beauregard, interest in joining the Guard is high, but the tightening of policies on tattoos and prospective recruit’s arrest records and the issues of childhood and teen obesity could make for recruitment challenges in the future.
“After 9/11, they eased some of the restrictions on recruits,” Huff said. “Recruits who had prior drug use, but were no longer using, and those with (minor) law violations were considered then. Now, in the last two years, those restrictions have tightened back up.”
“We haven’t noticed any lack of interest at this point in time, but the restrictions will impact us the most.”
Huff also cited a 2008 Pentagon study that deemed 35 percent of high school students unqualified for military service due to medical or weight reasons.
Despite these looming hurdles, the number of National Guard enlistees from the state remains steady.
“In Louisiana, recruitment is pretty good,” Huff said. “Louisiana versus other similar-sized states is doing well with recruitment.”
Huff recently returned from a conference in Oklahoma, and one of the topics discussed at the event was how to incorporate social media into recruitment.
“Our primary market is high school juniors and seniors,” he said. “Social media is huge for recruiting, and 17- to 21-year-olds are all over Facebook and Twitter.”
A free college ride appeals to many of the National Guard’s recruits, and a number of others are also drawn in by the chance to serve their country stateside in a non-full time position versus the full-time positions of serving in other military branches.
“Many of those in the National Guard have full-time jobs in the civilian sector,” Huff said. “We have enlistees that work in the oilfield and law enforcement and as teachers and firemen. The attraction is to serve their country in their own community and not be stationed in another state. It’s an opportunity to help neighbors at home.
“Many in the National Guard want to do something other than what they do at their civilian job. They are looking for that change.”
Even with recruitment goals that fluctuate based on its needs and uncertain global activities, the Navy meets its recruitment challenges head on.
“We have achieved great success in meeting our goals and being able to recruit the best and brightest young men and women to succeed in today’s high-tech Navy environment,” said Jeffrey G. Nichols, Public Affairs Specialist and Navy Recruiting Command Public Affairs officer in Memphis, Tenn. “The pool of qualified applicants continues to fluctuate, while our demand for priority programs increases the need for applicants with higher qualifications.”
Although the Navy does not ask recruits what motivates them to enlist, Nichols said some factors could be economic or patriotic. Some recruits may join to continue a family legacy of service while others enlist to receive money for continuing education. While social media works well to attract Navy recruits due to the ease of sharing information, quick response time and large audience, Nichols said old fashioned face-to-face recruiting is still the most effective way for the Navy to recruit candidates.
Once they have served, many former Navy enlistees are hired back into the government workforce as federal, state and local government employees or government contractors.
“Sailors who leave the service and move into the civilian workforce move into many different careers,” Nichols said. “Sometimes they change job fields completely, and some use their education they received while serving to fit their employment.”
According to Lt. Col. Monica Washington, commander of the Baton Rouge Army Recruiting Battalion, the Army is still riding a recruiting wave that began 13 years ago.
“The nation’s and Louisiana’s response after 9/11 was nothing short of amazing, and that spirit carries over today,” Washington said. “We are one of the main careers young men and women seek out after high school, but with the draw down (in the Middle East theaters), the number that can enlist has grown smaller.”
“The number one reason for people enlisting in our area is wanting to serve their country, basically to be a part of something bigger than themselves. “
Like Huff, Washington pointed out that the Army’s pool of recruits has also grown smaller due to height and weight standards.
When it comes to scouting for those who do meet the requirements, face-to-face meetings at sporting and college events are one of the Army’s preferred outreach methods.
“You can find us at football games, career fairs and community outreach events,” Washington said. “We are also making great strides in reaching young men and women through our on line site www.goarmy.com and social media such as Twitter and Snapchat.”
Washington said the Army is working toward changing the attitude that enlistees must put off college until after they have served, and that soldiers can do both through the Army or the Army Reserves.
“A person can enlist into the Army Reserve and earn over $20,000 for college, basically serving part time and attending college full time,” she said. “We can even assist with student loans, past and present. Our active duty soldiers can take college courses while serving, and the Army will pay their tuition. After their enlistment is up, they will have the GI Bill to complete their college.
“The bottom line is there is no need to put off serving for college when you can do both.”
After serving, former Army enlistees have entered into a broad range of careers including jobs as teachers, computer programmers, mechanics, EMT workers and police officers.
“The biggest career field is STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) like robotics,” Washington said. “(There are) Amazing jobs in the medical field, just to name a few.”