HAPPY MEAL GENERATION
Six months ago I was the old retired Air Force "Security Policeman", stay at home Trophy husband. My wife had recently become a squadron commander and she had to attend a "new squadron commander's class" at Randolph AFB, Texas. Spouses were invited to attend, so I went with her.
One of the guest speakers was a Major General and he advised the spouses, that as part of their new role they needed to get to know the squadron first sergeant and the local Air Force Recruiter. So that is just what I did. I already knew the "shirt" He is from Wisconsin like my wife so we "bonded" right away. Then I walked into the Columbus, Mississippi Air Force recruiter's office and announce I was there to volunteer. Both recruiters looked up at me and stared in disbelief. I told them I would be there on Tuesdays. I think they were even more surprised when I show up the first Tuesday. As I volunteered, I got to watched two extremely talented Recruiters try very hard to find and qualify the young people, which our Air Force needs.
To get into the Air Force you need a minimum of a 40 on your ASVAB test (this is the test that qualifies you to join the military). The other military branches accept a score of 30. Approximately, only 25 percent of the people taking the ASVAB test in the area, past the test with a score of 40 or more. This starts to narrow the pool of candidates for the Air Force Recruiters.
However, this is not the biggest stumbling block for the Recruiters; that major hurdle is "single parents". If you are a single parent, the Air Force is currently not interested in bringing you into the system. A young lady with a baby in her arms understands what the Air Force means by "single parent". The young male high school graduate, who got his girl friend pregnant two years ago, and has had little or no contact with mother or child since, in many cases, does not even consider himself a single parent. In fact, when they are told about their single parent status, for a large percent, they do not understand what this has to do with them.
Let me fast forward here a little. I now teach Air Force Junior R.O.T.C. at a high school here in Mississippi. I am getting a first hand look at America's youth. We are now in our second generation of military age, (17-27) young adults, who have never "feared" the draft. We are experiencing what I call the "happy meal generation". This is the generation that has always gotten a "prize" with their meal and unfortunately the "prize" has become an expectation. Just getting the meal is not good enough. This makes Recruiting extremely hard. The attitude I see seems to reflect the old Janet Jackson song "What have you done for ME lately".
With the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington D.C., I brought up the issue of the draft with my R.O.T.C. cadets. For the most part, only a few even knew what the draft was about. After I explained it, some of my students got rather upset. One student said "this is a free country - they can't make me go in the Army". I asked my cadets how many (to include my non draft-able females) were prepared to join the military now that we have this crises building in our country. I had a few freshman boys who were ready to "sign-up" but that was about it.
Recruiters have to sell the military to potential recruits based on all the "good stuff"; all the great training, the pay, the enlistment bonuses and of course the "money" for going to college. They really don't talk about war and never about getting killed.
Things have changed. I personally am curious about the issue of the draft and think when our "happy-meal generation" starts to fully grasp what could potentially happen to them, recruiting is going to become very difficult. It can no longer be "what have you done for me lately" but rather "what have you done for your country lately".