Military Recruiters Offer Career Information

High-pressure spiels frowned on by many but students can opt out

Last updated Saturday, November 12, 2005 10:15 PM CST in News

By Denise Malan
The Morning News

"Here, we're still getting that same number of men and women who want to serve their country," said Leyva, who recruits in Springdale, Shiloh Christian, Elkins, Greenland, St. Paul and West Fork high schools.

Rogers High School juniors Arely Salinas and Joel Gomez aren't bothered by recruiters at their school.

"They're just kind of there," Salinas said. She just tells recruiters she's going to college, and they leave her alone.

What does get on her nerves are the phone calls to her home. She just says, "It's not one of my options," and they usually don't call back.

"They do at my house," Joel said. "They get annoying."

Parent Involvement

Parents and students seem to feel military recruiting is a part of high school life, just the same as prom and Friday night football.

"Schools are a good place for (recruiters)," said Patsy Pitts, whose granddaughter is a senior at Rogers High School. "But they just need to talk it over with the parents."

Leyva acknowledged that can be an uphill battle. Teenagers can sign up for themselves at age 18, but parents still influence their children's decisions.

"It's hard with the parents," he said. "A lot of what they know is from the news. That's a show. They're trying to get the ratings. They're not showing the good stuff."

Recruiters tout signing bonuses and money for college. Since July, the Army has been offering prospective recruits what it calls "assignment incentive pay." That is $400 a month in extra pay for as many as 36 months if an enlistee agrees to join any of the brigades of the 1st Cavalry Division or 25th Infantry Division scheduled to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan.

"(Recruiters) didn't really say anything to me about the war," said Cathy Gardisser, whose 18-year-old son, Matt, signed up for the Army. "They just talked to me about basic training, that the media and the news are really focused on the negative things going on in the war. There are a whole bunch of boys who do really good things when they get out, and some of them don't even see war."

Matt Gardisser, who lives in Farmington and is a senior at Prairie Grove High School, said he sought recruiters and decided to join after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He qualified for $13,000 of a possible $20,000 signing bonus and will receive $27,000 for college.

"Everybody said that they lie to you and that they've got to meet a quota," Matt Gardisser said. "I haven't seen that. Everything they told me I would qualify for, when I went down and got processed, I got everything they said I would."

Many of Pitts' family members have joined the armed services -- an uncle was even serving at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked. Her son joined the Army years ago but never enlisted after dropping out of high school.

"It's not that we're anti-military," Pitts said. "But, when it's your son, you don't want him to go."

Cathy Gardisser also was unhappy at first about Matt's decision.

"He wanted me to sign him up when he was 17, but I told him I wasn't going to do that. We've been battling with this for a while."

Federal Law

The federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 receives the most attention for its standardized testing mandates. The law also contains a provision that public and private high schools receiving federal funds must release student names, addresses and phone numbers to military recruiters.

Headlines on activist Web sites around the country proclaim: "No Child Left Unrecruited." But the 2001 law only reauthorized of a portion of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

The law states that military recruiters must be given the same access as colleges and employers. The act also allows parents and students to opt out, but some parents aren't aware.

"It's something I don't even think about," said Debra Jones, whose daughter is a junior at Rogers High School.

Local high schools use different methods to alert parents to the opt-out provision. Springdale High School sent a note home with students Oct. 28 explaining the law and the opt out provision. The memo was translated in English and Spanish.

Fayetteville High School printed notification in the Parent Teacher Student Organization newsletter and on the school Web site and plans to give students the opportunity to fill out their own forms later this month, Principal Randy Willison said.

Rogers includes the information in its beginning of the year paperwork for parents, Assistant Principal Matt Saferite said.

"I would be surprised if there were 50 parents who opted out," Saferite said. Rogers High School has about 1,700 students.

Saferite said he has not heard complaints from parents about schools releasing student information. Parents are used to the government having access to information, especially because boys fill out draft cards when they turn 18, Saferite said.

"They've got the information," he said. "I don't think it's any big secret."

All students at Bentonville High School receive notice about the opt-out clause in their school registration packet. Between 8 and 10 percent opt out. The high school has an enrollment of approximately 1,925 students, school officials said.

The Selective Service gleans information from driver's licenses, a federal or state agency such as the Department of Education, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Department of Labor or Job Corps Program, the Department of Defense's recruiting list, or from high schools.

Career Direction

Sherrie James, who along with husband, Britt James, teaches the Jobs for Arkansas Graduates class at Springdale High School, decided years ago not to allow recruiters into their classes. Seniors in the program can work up to 20 hours a week and attend school while building maturity and leadership skills.

Recruiters would sometimes "harass" the students, calling and calling after visiting their class.

"I felt they weren't here to help the kids," Sherrie James said.

Now, however, the Army National Guard visits her classes annually to conduct the Career Direction program, which includes a career interest inventory and education about financial aid for college. Many Jobs for Arkansas Graduates teachers around the state use the program, Sherrie James said.

"I'm really leery about bringing people in, but when we had state meetings, (my colleagues) said these guys were good," she said.

The career survey asks students their post-graduation plans and entering the military is an option to check. However, National Guard Staff Sgt. Matt Boan starts his career presentation by saying, "We are not here to recruit."

The presentation includes information about federal grants and loans for college and average salaries of people who obtain various levels of education. A career booklet contains resume and job application tips, scholarship resources and the career interest inventory, which students fill out and take to their high school counselor for guidance.

"They're not pushy with the kids," James said. "They're actually giving good information."

Britt James said Career Direction helps the Jobs for Arkansas Graduates program students who need direction.

Matt Gardisser wanted that direction and purpose from the Army. He knows he wants to go to college, but he's not sure what he wants to study. His recruiter visited with some of his friends too. Every single friend said they weren't sure what to do with their lives, Matt Gardisser said.

"They know they're going to be sitting here this summer or next spring with nothing to do and say, 'Man I wished I'd joined the Army.'"

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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