Recruits undeterred by bloody spring in Iraq

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Jordan Hunkin wants to be a Marine so desperately that he skipped his high school graduation this month to get an early start at boot camp. His recruiter had to pull some strings to make it happen.

The slight 17-year-old wants to go straight into the infantry, qualify for Special Operations and become a sniper.

And if he is needed in Iraq, bring it on.

"I want to do my part," said Hunkin, who showed up at the recruiting office with his father on his birthday, the first day he could legally enlist. "I think it's our responsibility to the rest of the world to maintain order."

Despite a particularly bloody spring in Iraq for American troops and the fallout from the prisoner abuse scandal, business is still good for U.S. military recruiters.

Many recruits are unfazed by the flag-draped caskets coming home from Iraq since the surge of violence began April 1. Hunkin, for one, said he has "heard some stories" about combat over there, but is still ready to go.

The Pentagon said the fighting in Iraq has not affected overall recruiting numbers much one way or the other. Statistics through 2003 show all branches hitting annual targets, with no dramatic spikes. In fiscal year 2003, the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force brought in 184,879 recruits to active duty, exceeding the objective by more than 500.

And despite the bloodshed, soldiers are re-enlisting at rates that exceed retention goals, according to the Pentagon.

Recruiters here say patriotic interest in the military has been high since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and they are still tapping into it.

"The infantry program is definitely not one that we have to convince people to do," said Staff Sgt. Patrick Miller, who found Junkin and has three Marines he recruited now serving in Iraq. "We almost have to talk more people out of that one because there's a limited number of openings."

One of the slots is going to Jeremy Wellenreiter, a high school senior who said he has wanted to be a Marine since the sixth grade. Despite a good score on the military aptitude test that might qualify him for more skilled jobs, he wants infantry and Special Forces.

Wellenreiter said his recruiter explained the risk, explained that people might be shooting at him before long. He said it was a source of much hand-wringing by his parents but not a huge issue with him.

Dying "is always in the back of your mind if you're thinking about joining the military," he said.

McDaniel said recruiters are making an extra effort to ensure recruits know what they are getting into. "We tell it like it is," said McDaniel, a Gulf War veteran. "If it scares somebody, we don't want that individual in the Marine Corps."

Staff Sgt. William W. Judge Jr., who recruits for the Army in Tampa, said young people still join the service for the old reasons -- get money for college, learn a trade, find some direction -- but the war on terrorism generates a few more soldiers.

The morning after the news media reported the combat death in Afghanistan of Pat Tillman, the former NFL star turned Army Ranger, Judge fielded about 10 calls from people who were inspired to ask about joining up.

Judge said he is frank about the risks, whether the recruit is signing up to be an infantryman, a computer tech or a diesel mechanic. "I don't want anybody walking out of here thinking that they'll never see Iraq, that they'll never see Kuwait," Judge said.

Recruiters said news about prisoners being abused by military police officers in a Baghdad prison has not become an issue. Most recruits have not even brought it up, they said.

In Hunkin's case, his father, Thomas, said: "I've suggested other roads, but I think he has a real good handle what he wants to do and what's coming."

As far as missing his high school graduation, his parents will get over it.

The teenager said: "I figure I can get a head start in what's important."