Out in the quad, uniformed recruiters from the Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marines come to PRHS lunches to host fun, competitive games like, ‘Who can plank the longest,’ or, ‘How much can you deadlift?’ They come in the hopes to recruit the new, young adults that Gen Z will soon become and shape the U.S. forces worldwide.
Each branch offers certain benefits that catch students’ and parents’ eyes: a military pension, health and dental benefits, tuition reimbursement programs, VA loans, worldwide travel, and more, according to Veteran.com.
Of course, each branch also jumps recruits into the world of risk, enemies of state, and potential military conflict in an increasingly tense world.
With a sense of pride going in, senior Brennan Anderson has a few fears about being a part of the U.S. Marines Corps.
“The political discord that’s going on right now, it does scare me a little bit going in. Maybe they’ll send me somewhere, or maybe I’ll be in harm’s way, but for the most part, I put trust in myself that it is a good decision,” Anderson said.
To increase enrollment numbers, specifically, the Army branch has come up with five different tactics that started in 2023. For example, they’ve decided not to rotate soldiers to different stations after general training: limiting station rotating grants the opportunity to create relationships within their community. The Army also revived the slogan, “Be All You Can Be,” that was initially from the 1980s, according to a recent U.S. Army article.
Most importantly, in order to adapt to Gen Z, they boosted recruitment technology by creating virtual career fairs, video interviews, and arranging online networking events, according to NPA Worldwide. Having online accessibility is a common way the younger enrollees apply and connect with their branch of interest.
With parental consent, when a student is 17, they have the choice to enroll early.
“Students can actually register when they’re 17, so even if they’re a junior going into their senior year, that’s technically a year served even though they were in their senior year. They can commit early and we even have some committed now,” College and Career Counselor, Jessica Shatwell said.
At the end of September, for the fiscal year of 2024, 225,000 new applicants enrolled across the U.S. to enter one of the six armed forces– 25,000 more than 2023.
Anderson is one of the students who decided to early enroll into the Marines.
“Early enrolling gives me a couple of benefits. I have a recruiter to depend on my senior year who keeps me in line with my grades. It also got me an earlier spot at getting the job I wanted, so I ended up getting first pick in choosing, which was nice,” Anderson said.
Specifically, Anderson wants to be a part of the air crew: soldiers who become air crew members operate and monitor system controls, indicators, devices, and panels of an aircraft and engine. Responsibilities can vary on the type of aircraft and may include tasks such as refueling, electronic warfare systems, and operating mine sweeping.
To help find out the ideal job and branch placement, recruits can take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test.
“ASVAB is a test they [the military] use to determine what jobs someone can do in the military. The ASVAB isn’t just for the military, anybody at our school can take it for free. It’s a wonderful tool to get an idea of the things you might like,” Shatwell explained.
It wasn’t until Anderson’s junior year when a recruiter came to talk to his Band Class about the Marines and what it provides soldiers. After that, Anderson has also attended talks from recruiters in the college and career center.
When the college and career center hosts recruiters from one of the branches to talk, Shatwell advises students to be open-minded and flexible to new information.
“My advice to them is you should always pay attention to when we have recruiters here. When people are going to be here, you should listen to what everyone has to say because you might think your whole life you want to go into the Marines. Well, you might not know about different opportunities that the Air Force has, or vice versa,” Shatwell encouraged.
