Be there for the next chapter.” The next chapter begins with a haircut. While the other military services have their share of bragging rights, no service emphasizes its history and heroes as much as the Marine Corps.Īt the boot camp processing center, the recruits are greeted with hallway posters showing a veteran Marine and the caption, “You are part of a storied tradition. Ronald Krebs, a political science professor and military expert at the University of Minnesota, said he believes that the economy and the winding down of the war in Iraq are the dominant factors in the recruitment uptick.īut he notes that the Marines “have done a great job of branding themselves as the most proud and distinguished service branch with the greatest esprit de corps.” But at pool sessions, enlistees are warned that unless they can do considerably better, they may not be able to keep up with other recruits. The minimum fitness standards to enlist remain the same as in recent years: 44 crunches, two pull-ups and 13 ½ minutes to run a mile and a half. “We are not entertaining a lot of things that we would have five or six years ago.”Įach year, about 20,000 young men graduate from San Diego boot camp women are trained at Parris Island, separate from the men. “We’re not just looking for anyone to fill up spaces,” Hightower said.
With three months remaining in the 2010 fiscal year, just 46 recruits have received such waivers. In the 2007 fiscal year, 552 recruits were allowed to enlist after receiving waivers for felony arrests. There is now less need to request a “moral waiver” to allow a recruit to enlist despite a criminal record or other behavioral problem. Alfonsa Hightower Jr., head of the basic recruiter’s course at the San Diego base. Where once it could be a struggle to find recruits, now it is not uncommon for a recruiter to reach his monthly quota within the first few days of the month, said Master Sgt. Robert Milstead, commanding general of Marine Corps Recruiting Command. With higher numbers of would-be recruits, the Marine Corps can be choosy.
Pity the recruit who later uses the term door (hatch), bathroom (head) or hat (cover) in the presence of a drill instructor. Zeek waited eight months, attending monthly “pool functions” organized by Marine recruiters to make sure recruits stay in shape and are not overtaken by regrets or last-minute appeals from apprehensive parents.Īt the sessions, recruits do sit-ups, pull-ups, and other exercises, learn about Marine heroes and review Marine terminology. “I want to be part of the best,” Justin Zeek, 20, of Springfield, Ore., said when asked why he joined the Marines rather than another service. At a Pentagon news conference recently, every branch reported meeting enlistment goals.īut the Marines are convinced that other factors are also influencing the uptick in their recruitment: factors such as tradition and esprit.
To be sure, a bad economy is good for military recruiting. Curtis Beeching, 20, of Centralia, Wash., was scheduled to wait until January but a slot came open unexpectedly, after a wait of only six months.
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