|
KEYSER, W.Va. -- In an oil-stained gas station parking lot, Army recruiter Justin Broadwater drinks iced tea and waits, paperwork ready, for an 18-year-old he says is "hard-core ready to go." Sgt. Broadwater hopes so, anyway. His wedding plans give him only two weeks to meet his monthly quota of three new soldiers. One is already in hand. He's hoping that this will be No. 2.
His cell phone rings. "Yeah, buddy, I'm down here. . . . Yeah? Ah. That's bad," then a quick sign off and a sigh. The candidate's mother is sick. He'll reschedule soon; he's not sure when.
-snip-
Poor and patriotic regions like this one are the lifeblood of America's volunteer military. Kids join as soon as they leave high school, for the college money, the job training, the opportunities so scarce at home. They join because they're proud of their country and they want to help. But during the past three years, they've been seeing more combat and less college. Every reserve unit in this area has been called to the Middle East at least once. Two active duty soldiers died, one with young kids, the other a kid himself. Then came Abu Ghraib and the photos that disgusted the world. Now, pride comes mixed with anger and growing doubts about the war.
"It's the parents holding me back," Broadwater says. When he calls, they hang up the phone, refuse to put their children on the line, tell him off. They try to talk their sons and daughters out of joining, and, more often now, they succeed.
Let's give a big round of DU applause to all of those parents who are saying NO, you're not going to take my child to fight your wars for you!
|