The Few, the Proud

It's been three and a half years since the United States launched Operation Iraqi Freedom, but Marine Corps recruiting stations are still going strong, although they may soon be asked to do more.

At the station at 3019 William St. in Cape Girardeau, officers say they're having no trouble "making their mission," that is, meeting recruitment quotas.

War, they say, has never discouraged prospective Marines.

"I remember what made me want to join was during the Gulf War. On TV they were showing the footage of people on film saying 'I didn't join for this' or 'I just wanted the money to go to college,'" said Gunnery Sgt. Adam Reynolds.

"And then they filmed a Marine unit and they were jumping around like they were crazy, saying, 'I can't wait for this,' 'This is why I joined, I can't wait to go to combat.' Marines are a little different."

At 180,000 nationwide, the Marine Corps is the leanest of all divisions of the armed forces. All recruits must have a high school diploma and score 32 or above on the ASVAB military aptitude test; only the Army requirements are lower.

But Marines say they're particular about what they look for in a candidate. Ask a recruiter how long it takes to spot a future Marine who walks in the door, and the answer is minutes, not hours.

"Smart, adaptable ... often thought of as the 'first to fight,' the Marine Corps serves as the aggressive tip of the military spear," reads a description on the recruiting Web site.

But recruiters may be asked to push harder to find new, aggressive enlistees. Recent public statements by President Bush have indicated a need to "grow the force" of the Marine Corps and the Army by tens of thousands.

Finding candidates and convincing the whole family that the Marines are the right fit will be a time-consuming mission for recruiters.

During his recent visit to Southeast Missouri State University, Lt. Gen. James Conway, the newly appointed commandant of the Marine Corps, said the recruiting process has changed greatly since his college days.

"There's no question it's tougher today," he said.

When Conway first enlisted, the entire courtship lasted an average of four hours. The officer would sit down with the recruit and his family and lay out the options.

Today, the process is different, "My son is a recruiter who runs a station in New Hampshire, and he would tell you we get great young people and they're joining for the right reasons. But the thing that has changed is the influencers, the teachers, parents and coaches are less inclined to encourage them to join the military today," Conway said. "You now spend about 14 hours sitting down with the parents."

Local recruiters echoed that assessment. Reynolds said that the recruiting process typically lasts two to three months from start to finish. In a busy month, nine will sign contracts at the Cape Girardeau office. In a slower month, five.

To make signing up more appealing, recruiters try to tailor the pitch to the individual.

At some point, the recruiter will spread out 20 or so tags on the table. Each tag is engraved with a reason to join and the recruit is asked to place his or her top three reasons in order of importance.

If one chooses learning a trade or skill, Staff Sgt. Allen Willman will reel off a list of all the former Marines who now own Fortune 500 companies like Domino's Pizza, FedEx and UPS.

Other recruits pick "action and adventure" as their reason for joining. In response to that, Reynolds can detail the 42 countries he's visited as a Marine including 15-month deployments guarding embassies in Tanzania, Italy and China.

"The young men and women and the educators a lot of times have no idea what we do. So we find ourselves overcoming a lot of skepticism and a lot of misunderstandings."

And some local youngsters seem eager to find their niche in the Corps.

Chris Cook, 18, of Benton, Mo., is baby-faced and soft-spoken with blond, close-cropped hair. He is waiting to pass his physical before he leaves for boot camp in San Diego.

He said he chose the "brotherhood" card to indicate why he wants to become a Marine.

"When I got out of high school, I pretty well had no clue," he said. "I mean, I was set up to be the biggest failure. I was working at the hospital and that was going to be my job for the rest of my life. Now I'm starting to see more opportunity and stuff that I can do with my life."

Cook always wanted a career in the military, but he struggled with weight problems making him feel isolated and doubtful he'd ever have a career as a soldier. As of the beginning of summer in 2006 he weighed 365 pounds.

"I was really heavy and unhealthy. My liver, the doctor said there was fat getting built up in it that could be dangerous," Cook said.

Now with hard work and encouragement from a recruiting sergeant based in Sikeston, Mo., Cook now weighs 208 pounds and says his life is changed.

In the Marines, "you know everyone has got your back. Sgt. [Jedediah M.] Vermillion (of Sikeston) anything he can help you with, you know he'll be there. Like when I got pulled over [for speeding], I didn't even call my mom. The first call I made was to Sgt. V, like 'what do I do,'" Cook said.

Another recruit who spends three or four days per week at the station, Josh Potts of Cape Girardeau, is only 17 but graduated early to enter the Marine Corps. His entry requires parental consent and he will be on what's called the Delayed Entry Program for the next year. He calls himself a very patriotic person.

"My grandpa was in World War II; my dad was a Marine. I've had aunts in military service, so I kind of always knew this was for me," Potts said. Even so, Potts says he's encountered skepticism from those around him.

"They'll look at me funny and say, 'Don't you know there's a war going on?' But that makes me want to join even more."

Potts believes even locally there are a lot of misconceptions about the military and the war.

"Every person that's ever been over there that I talk to says they feel like they're making a difference and making it a better place, so I think I should be able to go and help out with that," he said.

A lacrosse player, Potts will spend the next year in inactive duty staying in shape and out of trouble. After boot camp he will come back and graduate with his class at Central High School, not dressed in the typical cap and gown, but in the dress blues of a Marine.

Potts just wishes he could fast-forward until his 18th birthday and get to boot camp. He says of the more than 300 available jobs in the Marine Corps he has already picked out his: infantry, the first into the fight, he said.

Reynolds said that is not unusual. "That's the one job that's full right now, the one I can't give out," he said.

tgreaney@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245