NYT: Army Effort to Enlist Hispanics Draws Recruits, and Criticism

[kskiska]

DENVER — As Sgt. First Class Gavino Barron, dressed in a crisp Army uniform, trawls the Wal-Mart here for recruits, past stacks of pillows and towers of detergent, he is zeroing-in on one of the Army's "special missions": to increase the number of Hispanic enlisted soldiers.

He approaches a couple of sheepish looking teenage boys in the automotive aisle and seamlessly slides into Spanish, letting loose his pitch: "Have you ever thought about joining the Army?" "Did you know you can get up to $40,000 in bonuses?" "I'm from Mexico, too. Michoacán."

In Denver and other cities where the Hispanic population is growing, recruiting Latinos has become one of the Army's top priorities. From 2001 to 2005, the number of Latino enlistments in the Army rose 26 percent, and in the military as a whole, the increase was 18 percent.

(snip)

Not all Latinos, though, are in step with the military's recruitment goals. In some cities with large Hispanic populations, the focus on recruitment has polarized Latinos, prompting some to organize against recruiters and to help immigrants learn their rights.

more…
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/09/national/09recruit.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[krkaufman]

1. We've nearly come full circle...

... all the way back to pre-1900.

[Army]

2. Using the Military Wisely

Might be a way to increase recruitment. That never enters the brass mindset though. It's always "Look how much money we can pretend we'll give you if you sign up!"

[EFerrari]

3. Why do I never read stories about recruiters who go to Ivy League

schools and lie to rich white kids?

[unhappycamper]

4. Because they're wasting their time.

Your post reminded me of the Army's birthday/recruiting celebration in Cambridge last year. This lady's sign sez it all:

[EFerrari]

5. I'm really very concerned about this story. In Latino culture,

it is extremely rude to say "no". If you ever ask for directions in Mexico, you will be given wrong directions rather than be told "I don't know" because that would be terribly rude.

So, this target has one less tool to fend off the advances of unscrupulous recruiters. :(

[unhappycamper]

7. We have an economic draft,

a back door draft,
an educational draft,
a poverty draft,
and now a cultural draft.

At some point, these clowns are going to run out of cannon fodder. Unfortunately, many of our young will pay the price for _*Co adventures.

[tecelote]

6. One of my favorite lines...

"We refuse to fight in a war declared by men who refuse to fight in a war."