By Rob Scott
As millions of Americans struggle to find work, more and more are turning to the military as an option.
Valley recruiters say they're noticing an uptick in the number of people walking into their offices asking about careers in the armed services.
Sgt. Chad Brigner, an Air Force recruiter based at the Susquehanna Valley Mall in Hummels Wharf, said there's a direct correlation between the economic downturn and the increase in walk-ins and phone calls at his office.
"I can assure you I've seen an impact," he said, "just with the number of people exploring it."
He's not assuming a connection either. The people walking into his office are telling him that's why they're there.
"It's one of the first things out of their mouth," said Brigner. "They say, I lost my job,' I got laid off,' or, I'm graduating high school, and there's no jobs out there.'"
Typically, the two biggest motivators for a young person joining the military are a sense of patriotic duty and money for school, he said. But now, recruits are as likely to cite financial woes or poor job prospects as their reasons for enlisting.
"They see there's little job security. ... and there's not a lot of good jobs in this area for young people," Brigner said.
Staff Sgt. Stephanie Mitchley, a spokeswoman at the Army recruiting office at the mall, said the Army is also experiencing elevated interest, especially from young people coming out of college worried about finding work.
"The high school kids really don't know yet. It hasn't hit them," she said. "We're expecting a big surge as soon as the school year ends."
Brigner and Mitchley said while interest is higher, the actual number of recruits is about the same as in previous years.
Brigner said he recruited two 23-year-olds just a couple weeks ago. One, a young woman, was 30 credits shy of graduating from college, he said, but couldn't afford to keep paying for school.
The other, a young man, was laid off from his job as an electrician in February and was having trouble finding employment.
According to Mitchley, the Army's retention rate is also quite high.
"If we shut down half our recruiting stations right now, we'd still be at full strength," she said.
Whether that's due to fears over the lack of available jobs in the private sector or some other reason, Mitchley couldn't say.
Sgt. Lynn Kinney, a public affairs representative with the Marine Corps, stated in an e-mail, "Since October, the number of non-traditional recruits has increased slightly, but not to the extent expected with respect to the economy. ...
"While more people are asking for information about the Marine Corps to educate themselves on the options they may have available if they qualify, Marine Corps enlisted accessions have not been greatly affected by the economic downturn."
Staff Sgt. Steven Glew, a Marine recruiter at the mall, echoed Kinney's statements, but said he has seen more interest from first-year college students worried about paying for school and getting a job.
"They just know the jobs aren't there, even with a degree," said Glew.
Lt. J.J. Small, enlisted programs officer with the Navy recruiting station in Pittsburgh, said the Navy has seen a "slight increase" in applicants, including individuals in their 30s.
"As a result, there is a slight correlation between the local job markets and the quality of life offered by the military," he said.
The military branches were unable to provide local recruitment numbers for this story.
n E-mail comments to rscott@dailyitem.com.
