Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Recession Is Driving More Into Military



By Craig Rozelle
The bad economy is forcing some people into joining the army. Lynette Mendez a mother of two with masters in accounting has decided to sign up for the military in order to provide for her children and get some income. The military has become an employer of last resort for Mendez's family, reflecting a national trend toward higher enlistment rates in the midst of recession. The Army long has relied on costly advertising campaigns to recruit 80,000 soldiers a year. A typical year sees spending of about $200 million on ads and events like the All-American Bowl, held in San Antonio, and dangling large bonuses. However the recession has done what billions of advertising dollars could not; make people join the army. The combination of the Iraq War cooling off and high unemployment rate has led to a surge in military enlistment. The Army's Seattle recruiting battalion signed up 13 percent more soldiers in December than the previous year. Seattle recruiting battalion spokesman Steve Lawrence said a recruiting uptick was expected as the economy soured which lead to the January figures showing a 33 percent rise. The Texas Army National Guard Recruiting and Retention Battalion catalogued an identical leap for the first quarter of this fiscal year.
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