Army Uses NASCAR in Recruiting Effort

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Fri, Nov. 26, 2004

Army Uses NASCAR in Recruiting Effort

JOHN MILBURN
Associated Press


FORT RILEY, Kan. - Joe Nemechek is "G.I. Joe" to many NASCAR fans, a nickname stemming from the GoArmy.com logo on the hood and bumper of his Chevy Monte Carlo. Every lap he leads and every pole he wins puts the Army in millions of living rooms nationwide.

Sponsoring Nemechek is part of a military recruiting strategy, which includes advertising at football games and rodeos, aimed at maintaining the all-volunteer force during the war in Iraq and the hunt for Osama bin Laden.
(snip)

The program's success is open to debate. A federal General Accounting Office report concluded last year that the military - even though its advertising spending rose from $299 million in 1998 to $598 million in 2003 - couldn't truly evaluate such campaigns because "joining the military is a profound life decision."
(snip)

But the logos on Nemechek's car helped coax Pvt. Terrence Bartholomew, also with the 24th Infantry, to enlist in February. The 22-year-old from New Orleans acknowledged he's not really a NASCAR fan but, "I saw the car two times on TV."
(snip/...)

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/10272342.htm
(Free registration is required)

[Judi Lynn]

1. Strange aspects of the "No Child Left Behind Act"

Friday, November 26, 2004

Military recruiters feel the pressure
A battle is raging ... for nation's youth

By M.L. LYKE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.......SOME FAMILIES ARE OPTING OUT

.....Under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, high schools must provide junior and senior students' names, phone numbers and other information to military recruiters.

Most names went out earlier this month. But a number of Puget Sound-area families sent requests to schools to "opt out" of the process. Their students' names were not released. The highest number of opt-outs -- 15.1 percent -- were in the Bellevue School District, with 790 of 5,219 students' names kept off military-recruiting lists.

In Seattle schools, the percentage of opt-outs was 12.1 percent, or 1,739 of 14,431 students. Shoreline schools had a 6.1 opt-out rate (205 out of 3,350 students). And the Edmonds schools had a rate of just 1.8 percent (123 out of 6,802).

Under the No Child Left Behind Act, schools can forfeit federal funding if they don't comply.
(snip/)

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/201266_recruit26.html

[liberal N proud]

5. Drink a little beer, watch some good ol' boys race, sign right here

Oh, what was that, you just signed up for the army.
By the time the hangover is gone, they will be facing cross-fire in Iraq.

[Deja Q]

11. WTF?! NCLB forces schools to give kids' info to the military?!

That's outrageous, if true.

[Ruffhowse]

2. The Army is the new jobs program from Bush.

[hadrons]

3. Army got a real brainic in Terrence Bartholomew ...

But the logos on Nemechek's car helped coax Pvt. Terrence Bartholomew, also with the 24th Infantry, to enlist in February. The 22-year-old from New Orleans acknowledged he's not really a NASCAR fan but, "I saw the car two times on TV."

but I guess cannon fodder doesn't have to be smart

[billyoc]

4. CANNON fodder?!

This guy's PENTAGAGON material. ;)

[ridgerunner]

6. I watch NASCAR and noone I know calls him

G.I. Joe. We all call him "Front Row" Joe cause Nemecheck tends to qualify really well usually ending up on the front row or near it.

But on the other hand I can see how some people could be influenced by his car. When I was in Naval Boot Camp, one of our weekend "treats" was to watch Top Gun. I made the remark one day that I hated the damn movie and I had a couple of fellows tell me that it inspired them to join up. So yeah, simple minds can easily be influenced with propaganda. Shocking huh?

[Lugnut]

13. Yep!

Joe Nemechek is "Front-Row" Joe to me.

Fitz-Bradshaw Racing has the US NAVY sponsorship, Team Rensi has the Marines, Wood Brothers has the Air Force and Jack Roush has the National Guard.

[proudbluestater]

7. Good! That sounds like a Bush-voter's favorite hobby!

That's right, all you Bushies, be the first to sign up on your block. Head of the line, all you good young men and women.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

8. Is it just me or

do you suspect something WWF-like is going on?

Overtaking Nemecheck is UNAMERICAN!!!

[raggedcompany]

9. Good.

I can hardly think of a better place to get them. But if they really want some success, they should refine the target recruiting to include:

Professional wrestling events.
The town clerk's office on hunting license day.
Monster truck shows.

Recruit away!!

[Ima]

20. They wouldn't have room for them all.

[signmike]

10. They do it at The Drags here

in So. Calif. the Army recruiters give a VERY misleading pep talk along with free passes to the drags - somehow inferring that joining the Army will lead to a rich and rewarding lifetime career of driving million dollar race cars...after a short and quite enjoyable vacation in Boot Camp, which the gummint will even PAY for. Such a deal.:puke:

[Ernesto]

17. Yes the Army is spending tons of $$$$$ on drag racing

@ Sear's Point (SF bay area) they had their own little "macho playland". It must have been at least 20,000 sq ft of free interactive attractions designed to interest young hard bodies with soft minds....... I'm not sure but I think the army's guy (Tony Schumaker?) won the National Hot Rod Ass.Top Fuel points championship to.

[drunkdriver-in-chief]

12. Makes sense - If you love cars, you love killing - eom

eom

[frylock]

14. hereby nominated for stupidest post of the year..

give me a fuckin break.

[AlCzervik]

15. i'll second that

[AtTheEndOfTheDay]

21. Now you're nominated...

For failure to detect sarcasm.

[Ernesto]

19. Logic, what's dat?

BTW where's your star?

[Sabriel]

16. I'm fairly sure I won't be seeing these ads on F1 cars

How about Schumacher driving a Ferrari loaded with Marines ads?

[phasev]

18. WWE

How about GoArmy themed wrestler attire for all the WWE wrestlers?

[__Inanna__]

22. NASCAR drivers/dads

I am wondering, can we equate NASCAR drivers (I happen to know one in a group I sort of participate in) with NASCAR dads? I had never heard of this before DU, the term NASCAR anything. Can someone explain to me what is a NASCAR dad and are NASCAR drivers equally as lame? (I am assuming they are lame after what I've read on this board).

[Conservativesux]

23. Soccer Mom's or Nascar Dad's, if they voted for..

..Bush, thinking he's gonna save us all from those evil "terrorists" in Iraq, then they are are dumb, unthinking animals I always felt most of them are.

Just wait until Bush fires up the draft and the little kiddies get an all expense paid trip to the land of Allah to die for Big Oil.

[Lugnut]

25. I'm a NASCAR fan

I'm not a dad or male for that matter. Some DU posters stereotype NASCAR fans as beer-swilling, bib overall and clodhopper wearing Southern good old boys failing to understand that NASCAR is a national pastime. The majority of the current crop of Nextel Cup drivers are from states that are not located in the South such as NY, CA, NV, WI, CT, ME, MI, IN and PA.

[OutsourceBush]

24. Darwin

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

26. I guess it's a good thing that a NASCAR track was rejected here.......

...in Snohomish County (Washington State).