-Caveat Lector- September 16, 2001 THE SERVICES Despite National Emotion, There's No Rush to Enlist <http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/16/nyregion/16ENLI.html> By DAVID CAY JOHNSTON and AMY WALDMAN Workers at the collapse site in Lower Manhattan greeted President Bush by chanting "U.S.A., U.S.A.!" At memorial sites, there have been spontaneous outbreaks of "God Bless America." American flags sprout from window boxes and moving trucks, on the helmets of rescue workers and the electronic marquees of Times Square. Yet while the armed services report a spike in the number of people inquiring about enlistment and a near-doubling in the visitors to the Army's online recruiter chat room, they also report no rise in actual enlistments since the attack. In contrast to the days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, when thousands of young men got in line to sign up for combat, this time, with the apparent loss of life much greater, there are no such lines. And many of the expressions of interest have come from men too old to serve, according to spokesmen for the national headquarters of all four recruiting commands. "These people in their 40's, these old guys, wanted to serve their country, but the younger people just don't have any patriotism," said Staff Sgt. Donald Wilson, a Marine Corps recruiter. The maximum age for Marine recruits in most cases is 29. Patriotism is not always the driving force behind military enlistment. Still, some argue that these days may represent a test for a generation largely detached from the military. On Friday, James Young, 18, a high school senior from Rochester, joined the Marines, the only person in the state's third-largest city to do so since Tuesday. He said he had tried to persuade friends to sign up on Thursday and was mocked. "They are all cowards, self-centered and afraid," said Mr. Young, a senior at an alternative high school. "They just wanted to get an education, get women and get drunk." Charles Moskos, a professor of military sociology at Northwestern University, said the lack of enlistment reflected a trend of increasing estrangement between the military and society. Baby boomers at least grappled with whether to serve, even if many eventually did not. But since the draft's repeal in 1972, only a small percentage of Americans have served in the military, and even events like the Persian Gulf war failed to drive many more to do so. "Flag-waving is not patriotism," Professor Moskos said. The flag wavers, of course, would say differently. On Wednesday, with the sun shining, Midtown Manhattan looked as if it were gearing up for a Fourth of July parade. Robert Negron was selling flags at the corner of 34th Street and Seventh Avenue for $1 apiece, and selling out. "The Palestinians are waving theirs," he boomed out. "You should be waving yours." His goal, he said, was to create a "snowball effect," and by Thursday, the snowball was rolling. It was hard to go almost anywhere without seeing an American flag. Evaluating enlistment last week by comparing it with Pearl Harbor may be unfair, given that this time around, the nation's leaders have yet to decide whom to fight or how. Also, most of those joining the military these days are driven less by patriotism than the desire for educational benefits and skills training. Still, last week's events seem certain to recalibrate the emotions even of those already committed to serve. Joshua Sanders, 18, lives in New City, N.Y., and had been recruited, as he put it last week, after weighing a military career for two years. On Friday, picking up some forms at the Times Square recruiting station, he talked about how the attack had strengthened his commitment. "After what I saw on the news," he said, "my blood started to boil." In the days since the attack, many people have called in to the country's thousands of service recruiting centers to find out how to help. Maj. David C. Andersen of the Marine Corps said the corps' public affairs office at 50th Street and Third Avenue had been getting 20 calls a day from people saying they wanted to enlist. (For those interested: that office does not process enlistments.) In many communities, the recruiting centers are the military's most visible presence, a fact that also has military officials worried. Spokesmen for the recruiting commands said they were taking increased precautions to ensure the safety of their recruiters and the facilities. There are no such worries on the recruitment Web site for the Army, goarmy.com, where the recruiter chat room was packed last week. The site is logging about 743 visitors during a four-hour chat, up from 400 before the attack, according to Mr. Smith. There have been 500 e-mail messages a day to the Web site recently, up from 200. The postings Friday afternoon were fervent: "I want to help my country all I can even if I have to die doing it!" "If I enlist now will I get a shot at those responsible for the terrorist act?" "How do I become a sniper?" Many chat-room visitors said they lacked high school diplomas or had criminal records, that they were over age or overweight, flat of foot or pierced of tongue. They had questions: Would they be qualified? Could standards be waived? Recruiters struggled to answer the flood of queries, generally saying that each applicant would be judged individually. Still, many of the questions on the site were about re-enlistment, by men older than the Army's customary age maximum of 34. "Veterans, God bless them, want to know what they can do," Mr. Smith said. "But it's not for them to be a soldier again." <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! 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