LIHU‘E — As the jobless rate continues to rise, more Americans are looking to the military for a steady paycheck.
While the number of Kaua‘i residents enlisting may be too small to say for sure if it reflects this nationwide pattern, local recruiters are reporting a rise in civilian interest.
Staff Sgt. Richard Basl, the new Army recruiter for Kaua‘i, estimates one out of every three people enter his recruiting office in Lihu‘e for specific economy-related reasons.
“It’s not as high as everyone has imagined,” Basl said. “I can say that I do have a lot of people seeking employment through me but the qualifications are not there.”
Kaua‘i’s unemployment reached 10.3 percent in March, up more than three-fold from 2.8 percent in the same month last year.
While there might be a large pool of unemployed people, recruiters say only a small fraction of them meet the requirements to serve in the military.
Thomas Rossiter, Advertising and Public Affairs Specialist with the Honolulu Army Recruiting Company, said less than 30 percent of individuals ages 17 to 24 are fully qualified.
“Despite the recent slight improvement, the desire to enlist is near its lowest point in two decades,” he added, a result of decreased support from family members, teachers and others to recommend service.
Recruiters also must contend with increased obesity and high school dropout rates or failure to obtain a GED equivalent — all disqualifying factors for enlistment.
Basl said interest levels might increase in the summer.
“I think there will be a larger influx of recruiting because 800 high school graduates will be out looking for work,” he said.
Staff Sgt. Tobin K. Teruya, a Waimea High School graduate, is the Staff Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge of Recruiting Sub-Station Honolulu and oversees all recruiting in Honolulu, Maui and Kaua‘i sectors.
“I do believe because of the economy that there is a slight increase in enlistments and re-enlistments in the United States Marine Corps and our retention rate is very high as well,” the former Kaua‘i recruiter said.
Of Hawai‘i, he said, “91 joined so far and our mission so far is 58. As far as the breakdown in Kaua‘i our best year was fiscal year 2006 — 15 Marines joined from Kaua‘i. Ever since then we’ve been averaging about two to three a year.”
At press time, no one from Kaua‘i has joined the U.S. Marine Corps this fiscal year.
Teruya said he believes the drop in Marines from Kaua‘i is because the Marine Corps recruiters have less of a presence here now than past years.
“A Marine recruiter is usually on Kaua‘i once a month for only three days; however, no one knows that we are out there because we have no way to announce that we are coming,” he said. “We work out of our hotel or just meet potential applicants in schools, libraries, parks, etc.”
Teruya has also seen an increase in Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery failures. The ASVAB is a test administered to all military applicants and a requirement to be eligible to join.
“Last but not least, the schools don’t promote the military as a secondary option to these students,” he said.
Lt. Colonel Kurt Jackson, commander for the Hawai‘i Army National Guard recruiting and retention division, said the Guard is not receiving more enlistments because of a downturn in the economy or because people are unemployed.
“We are a part-time employment. We suspect some people are joining to pursue higher education in light of the change of the economy but we don’t have solid data to support that observation,” Jackson said.
The National Guard allows people to work part time while maintaining their full-time employment or attending school full time.
To learn why Kaua‘i residents Steven Logan and David Denson enlisted in the Army, see Monday’s edition of The Garden Island.
• Ellen Edmands, special sections editor, can be reached at eedmands@kauaipubco.com
Editor’s note: This is part one of a two-part series about military recruiting on Kaua‘i in light of the struggling economy, both locally and nationally. Part two will appear Monday and tells the stories of two Kaua‘i residents who joined the Army.
