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Publication date: 05/27/2001
Peacetime perks
overshadow patriotism
Contrary to previous
generations, most of today's military
enlistees aren't
joining to serve Uncle Sam.
BY JERRY DAVICH
Times Features Writer
Eighteen-year-old
Jason Bracich isn't joining the United
States Air Force for college tuition help
or travel opportunities or to escape a
troubled home life. And sure, the
high-flying commercials may be
entertaining, but they didn't sell him on
enlisting.
Bracich, a senior at The Culver Academies
in Culver, Ind., is truly one of the few
and the proud when it comes to new
recruits. He's not asking what his country
can do for him. He's asking what he can do
for his country. And he means it.
"I believe our nation provides us
with freedoms, rights, prosperity and
countless other blessings that other
nations do not. These blessings are often
taken for granted, but they are not
without cost," said Bracich, to the
Air Force Academy in Colorado on June 28.
"I am willing to make sacrifices so
that my sister, parents, relatives,
friends, classmates and other people I
don't even know can have the blessings of
our nation ... I love my country," he
said.
Local military recruiters say Bracich and
his unapologetic patriotism are about as
common these days as recruits enlisting
solely for free haircuts and room and
board.
"There are a lot of reasons kids are
joining today, but patriotism isn't often
one of them," said Army station
commander Jeffrey Tharp, who mans the
Valparaiso office. "I'd say maybe
three out of 10 recruits join for that
reason. Maybe."
Tharp, 37, joined in 1987 because of a
poor local economy in his native Oklahoma.
At the time, he wasn't looking to serve
his country as much as finding a better
life for himself. Many of today's recruits
are looking for the same thing, in one way
or another, he said.
"A lot of middle-class recruits want
to sustain that financial stability they
were raised with," he said.
Tharp's boss, Capt. Ron Henry, said a lot
of new recruits are joining for the
adventure, whether it's jumping out of a
plane, traveling to exotic places or
sweating through a merciless boot camp.
"Some want that challenge, some need
it," said Henry, who oversees eight
recruiting stations in this region.
The past two generations of
military-minded teens haven't had anyone
to relate to when it comes to the issue of
defending their country. And because the
last major U.S. conflict (Desert Storm)
was more than a decade ago, there's no
military immediacy or public sense of duty
persuading them to join, Henry said.
Marine Master Sgt. Ephrem Hardin, a Crown
Point recruiter, was asked why most teens
enlist in the Marines today.
"You mean besides the
commercials?" he asked, only
half-jokingly.
Hardin, who joined in 1980 and has seen
combat twice on foreign soil, said things
haven't changed all that much in the past
20 years when it comes to recruiting.
"It's not about patriotism. It's
about accepting the challenge of becoming
a Marine," he said. "Wars or
conflicts have nothing to do with it.
Period."
Brian Philipps, a 21-year-old Dyer
recruit, said he joined the Marines
reserve because of this unspoken
challenge.
"Every Marine I've ever met demanded
a certain respect. That definitely
attracted me," said Philipps, who
left for San Diego last week. "I'm
excited about meeting this
challenge."
WHEN PATRIOTISM WAS A
"GIVEN"
During World War II, overall numbers in
every U.S. military branch were at an
all-time high; even civilians,
grandmothers and young soldier wannabes
joined the effort at some level, the
Army's Henry said.
"Back
then, it was a given to be drafted or
enlist on your own," he added.
Stanley Bliznick agrees wholeheartedly. The
Griffith war veteran, nicknamed "Sgt.
Blitz" by frontline newspaperman Ernie
Pyle, was drafted by the Army in 1941. He
wasn't offered any of the perks that are
routinely paraded in front of today's
enlistees. But he didn't need them to join,
either, he said.
"I was dying to go overseas. We
considered it our duty," said Bliznick,
who still offers his time to a local
American Legion and VFW in the name of
patriotism. "Our country comes first.
That's just how it should be."
But that's not the case today. Too many
younger Americans have a
"pathetic" attitude toward serving
their country without expecting something
substantial in return from Uncle Sam,
Bliznick said.
"I'd hate to see us get in another
world war today. The attitude just isn't
there ..." he said, before catching
himself, "... but maybe if there was
another war it would wake some people
up."
Does it take a war to evoke patriotism in
America?
"I don't know about that. I still
believe kids are patriotic. They just have a
lot more options," Henry said.
But one Vietnam veteran begged to differ:
"Hell, none of us joined because of the
travel perks or overtime pay. We did it
'cause we felt an obligation. Kids don't
feel that obligation today."
Senior Airman Terry Worthington, at the Air
Force's Valparaiso recruiting office, said
most new recruits begin thinking about
patriotism a few months after enlisting.
Before that, most are still trying to figure
out what to do with their life, career wise.
Though when she joined seven years ago, she
didn't care about a career. She just knew
she loved her country, her freedom and her
rights: "And I knew I wanted to
travel."
"A lot of the new recruits want to
travel the world and have their
independence," she said.
MAKING THE MISSION
Recruitment numbers for the Army, Navy, Air
Force and Marines vary from year to year,
mostly depending on quotas passed down from
national headquarters.
An example: If 55,000 new Navy personnel
(this year's national quota) are needed in
any given year, that number gets broken down
and distributed to recruiting offices across
the country. Each office then has its
"mission" to fill that quota.
Local recruiters don't talk about how many
people are joining at any given time. They
talk about making their mission. And most,
if not all, of the local recruiting stations
here are making their mission these days.
"Nationally, we've met our mission
every year for more than 20 years, except
for one," said Navy Lt. Steve Zip of
the national recruiting office in Tennessee.
"Our numbers have been rising steadily
since last year," Marine Sgt. Hardin
said. "And the Marines have been making
their mission nationally for a few
years."
Hardin, a Horace Mann High School graduate,
noted that kids from more urban areas like
Gary or Hammond may show fewer signs of
patriotism because they simply want out of
where they live. On the other hand, kids
from Valparaiso or Crown Point seem to be
more gung-ho about defending their homeland.
"Some kids just aren't happy with their
lives," he said.
It wasn't until his freshman year that Jason
Bracich decided he wanted a military career.
While
re-reading the book "Starship
Troopers" by Robert A. Heinlein,
Bracich became intrigued with the idea of
military service as citizenship.
And though his father is an Air Force
lieutenant colonel, stationed at Fort
Belvoir, Va., Bracich never intended on
following in his rather intimidating
footsteps.
"MY father originally discouraged me to
test my resolve, but then supported me
wholeheartedly," said Bracich, who will
train to become a combat rescue officer.
Bracich quickly noted how too many people
are enlisting for simply the wrong reasons.
He believes young Americans should enlist in
order to serve their country, and the nation
then rewards them for their service.
"It is not meant to be the other way
around."
Jerry Davich can be reached at jerryd@howpubs.com
or at (219) 762-4334.
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