Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: A view from inside out

Thursday, Jan. 20, 2000 | 9:22 a.m.

Mike O'Callaghan is the Las Vegas Sun executive editor.

When traveling out of country my most solid and complete form of news has become television and a limited number of international newspapers and magazines. This is true, unless I'm in the vicinity of a U.S. military base, where the Stars and Stripes newspaper is available. This was the case last week in Korea and the content of the newspaper was both complete and refreshing.

The lead story in the Stars and Stripes was, like many stateside newspapers, the results of a study about the U.S. military. American Military Culture in the 21st Century resulted from a survey of 12,000 military people around the world. Not surprising was the revelation that gays in uniform were "hardly ever flagged" as a big concern of those questioned in the survey. Whether this means "don't ask, don't tell" works wasn't discussed.

Actually the major problems identified were not unknown prior to the study. Many of the study participants have concerns about issues related to quality of life and how it affects their families. Married personnel make up 56 percent of our military forces. When the draft ended 27 years ago, only 36 percent of them were married. Today the rate of overseas deployment shows an increase of 300 percent during the last decade of the 20th century. This has resulted in the Navy having personnel serving no more than six months at sea at a time.

Just about the time a reader began to believe there was more whining in the survey than necessary came the almost unanimous statement, "I am proud to serve in America's armed forces." Likewise, the men and women I saw on bases in Alaska, Japan and Korea were sharp and showed personal pride.

The newspaper went on to bring the issue of recruiting and retention to the local level. Writer Jeremy Kirk used recent re-enlistment stories of two sergeants from Yongsan Garrison, South Korea, to catch the readers' eyes. The woman used her re-enlistment to be stationed close to home in the States. The man took a $12,000 bonus for his four-year re-enlistment.

The male sergeant was quoted as saying, "I'm pretty happy with the bonus because I'd be doing it regardless of whether I got the bonus or not." Then he added, "I think I could probably make more money in the private sector. The money is not bad in the Army. You can make a decent living." The woman, who has a 7-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son, said, "It stinks being away from your family." She went on to say, "I do like the Army. I always wanted to be in the military." Neither would say what comes after they finish their latest enlistments.

Stars and Stripes also quotes Richard H. Kohn, chairman of the Curriculum in Peace, War and Defense at the University of North Carolina. Kohn sees the lack of an obvious enemy and less interest in foreign policy resulting in getting a "diminished quality recruit." He also believes the recruiting efforts based on individual benefits received in the military causes problems. "The balance needs to swing a little more toward inspiration. I think young people want an adventure ..." said Kohn. Professor Charles Moskos of Northwestern University sees the four-year enlistment as a "turnoff for a college student." He believes a two-year initial hitch would be more attractive.

The recent failure to meet quotas in the Air Force comes as a shock to some people. A General Accounting Office report tells us that 64 percent of Air Force enlisted personnel are "dissatisfied." This will soon result in more Air Force bonuses, advertising and recruiters. But will this really solve the recruiting and retention problems of any military service? The Marines have the fewest recruiting problems and spend the least amount per recruit.

From Yokota Air Base, Japan, comes this bit of information in Stars and Stripes: "A large vacant lot on Yokota's west side will be home to new tennis courts, a swimming pool and a community center boasting a high-tech 'virtual reality' game center by this fall. ...

"Nearby, the base is also building a new youth center, with a game room, lounge and indoor basketball court."

Incidentally, "Yokota already has a community center, the Yujo, on the main part of the base. It's near a lot of unaccompanied personnel dorms, and many of the Yujo's programs are geared toward single people. The new center on the west side is targeted more toward families. ..."

When all is said and done, it looks like an economic downturn, a visible enemy or a military draft may be the only viable solutions for military recruiting and retention problems.