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• Liam
• Dec 23, 2008, 12:34
Downturn Drives Military Rolls Up
War, Election Shifts Are Also Factors

Natalie Hill, 18, looks over material at a National Guard recruiting kiosk at the Mall in Columbia. (By Mark Gail — The Washington Post)
Some of the largest investment firms on Wall Street are gone. The country’s auto industry is on the verge of collapse. Banks are shedding jobs. But in these doom-and-gloom times, there is someone who’s hiring: your local military recruiter.
The economic downturn and rising unemployment rate are making the military a more attractive option, Pentagon officials say. In some cases, the peace of mind that comes with good benefits and a regular paycheck is overcoming concerns about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which any new enlistee is likely to join.
“There’s no way to sugarcoat it: We’re a nation at war,” said Lt. Col. Michael Bennett, who commands the Maryland Army National Guard’s recruiting battalion. “But we offer a stability of income that a lot of employers can’t guarantee right now.”
Since the military became an all-volunteer force in 1973, recruiters have generally struggled in times of private-sector job growth and done well during recessions. But in addition to the recent downturn, they say they are benefiting from better news out of Iraq, where U.S. casualities are down, and from the election of Barack Obama (D), who has pledged to withdraw troops from Iraq.
The active-duty Army, which like other branches has increased benefits and added recruiters, said last month that it had recruited more than 80,000 soldiers during the past fiscal year, the third year in a row it has met its recruiting goals. Good news for the Army has coincided with terrible news elsewhere. The unemployment rate has jumped from 4.8 to 6.5 percent in the past 12 months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. During that time, the ranks of the unemployed grew by 2.8 million, to 10.1 million.
At a news conference last month, David Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said the military does “benefit when things look less positive in civil society. I don’t have the Dow Jones banner running up behind me here this morning, but that is a situation where more people are willing to give us a chance. And I think that’s the big difference: People are willing to listen to us.”
And for those listening, recruiters are likely to talk about how they’re hiring, even if no one else is. Air National Guard Master Sgt. Robert Sweeny, a recruiter based in Baltimore, said that since the economy tanked, “we’ve changed the strategy a little bit.” Instead of highlighting only college tuition assistance and job training, his recruiters also talk about “health and life insurance benefits that companies are cutting back on,” he said.
Master Sgt. Veronica Womack, who processes recruits for the Maryland Army National Guard, said some soldiers-to-be have told her that the change in commander in chief was a factor in their decision to enlist.
“For the last couple of years, they were unsure about the direction the military was going in and if it was really for them,” she said. One new enlistee told her that he joined because “the economy was bad, and he felt there was a real change since the election” in the direction of the country.
Another prospect, who worked in real estate, said the housing market had gotten so bad that he wanted to join for extra income, she said.
The military’s recent recruiting success can also be attributed to other factors. After the active Army missed its recruiting mark by 7,000 in 2005, it raised the maximum age for recruits from 35 to 42.
Enlistment bonuses have also increased and can be can be as high as $40,000. The Army estimates that the compensation for a military police sergeant, including housing, food and health care, comes to $47,000. And the new G.I. Bill, which goes into effect Aug. 1, will cover the tuition at any public university and provide a living stipend.
Meanwhile, recruiting has become even more vital as the military plans to expand so it can relieve the strain on troops and their families. The active Army is to grow by 65,000 soldiers, to 547,000, by 2010. And the Marine Corps is to add 27,000, for a total of 202,000, by 2011.
Even before the economy started to decline, a Defense Department survey in June found that 11 percent of people between 16 to 21 said they would “definitely” or “probably” serve in the armed forces, up 2 percent from last year.
The Army has adjusted its advertising campaign to target not only prospective soldiers but also their Vietnam-era parents, who were seen as the main obstacles to military service. “If your son or daughter wants to talk about the Army, listen,” the narrator of a television commercial intones. “You made them strong. We’ll make them Army strong.”
Aware that the wars had transformed the Guard and reserves into a key component of the fighting force, the National Guard also launched an ad campaign. Instead of promoting only college benefits, its television commercials play up patriotic themes and depicted guardsmen less as college students than as soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan and at home fighting fires and rescuing people from raging floodwaters. “When your country calls, you go. Proudly,” a guardsman says, soaring music in the background.
“It’s more than money for college,” another soldier featured in the ads says. “It’s built my character and given me a sense of accomplishment.”
At the Mall in Columbia, the Maryland Army and Air National Guards have set up a kiosk for the holidays, where recruiters hand out Hacky Sacks and bumper stickers. There’s an Xbox and a television that continuously plays a National Guard ad.
But no matter what sorts of benefits recruiters offer, or how slick the ad campaign, one of the main draws continues to be service to country, said Sgt. 1st Class Thad Copeland, an Army recruiter based in Alexandria. Even if someone is joining because he can’t find a job elsewhere, he needs to know that decision could mean a trip to the front lines.
“I know what your first question is, and the answer is yes,” Copeland tells his prospects. “You are getting deployed.”
Arizona and the IMF
Ariz. police say they are prepared as War College warns military must prep for unrest; IMF warns of economic riots
Phoenix Business Journal – by Mike Sunnucks
A new report by the U.S. Army War College talks about the possibility of Pentagon resources and troops being used should the economic crisis lead to civil unrest, such as protests against businesses and government or runs on beleaguered banks.
“Widespread civil violence inside the United States would force the defense establishment to reorient priorities in extremis to defend basic domestic order and human security,” said the War College report.
The study says economic collapse, terrorism and loss of legal order are among possible domestic shocks that might require military action within the U.S.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn warned Wednesday of economy-related riots and unrest in various global markets if the financial crisis is not addressed and lower-income households are hurt by credit constraints and rising unemployment.
U.S. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., and U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., both said U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson brought up a worst-case scenario as he pushed for the Wall Street bailout in September. Paulson, former Goldman Sachs CEO, said that might even require a declaration of martial law, the two noted.
State and local police in Arizona say they have broad plans to deal with social unrest, including trouble resulting from economic distress. The security and police agencies declined to give specifics, but said they would employ existing and generalized emergency responses to civil unrest that arises for any reason.
“The Phoenix Police Department is not expecting any civil unrest at this time, but we always train to prepare for any civil unrest issue. We have a Tactical Response Unit that trains continually and has deployed on many occasions for any potential civil unrest issue,” said Phoenix Police spokesman Andy Hill.
“We have well established plans in place for such civil unrest,” said Scottsdale Police spokesman Mark Clark.
Clark, Hill and other local police officials said the region did plenty of planning and emergency management training for the Super Bowl in February in Glendale.
“We’re prepared,” said Maricopa County Sheriff Deputy Chief Dave Trombi citing his office’s past dealings with immigration marches and major events.
Super Bowl security efforts included personnel and resources from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. military’s Northern Command, which coordinated with Arizona officials. The Northern Command was created after 9/11 to have troops and Defense Department resources ready to respond to security problems, terrorism and natural disasters.
Northern Command spokesman Michael Kucharek and Arizona Army National Guard Major. Paul Aguirre said they are not aware of any new planning for domestic situations related to the economy.
Nick Dranias, director of constitutional government at the libertarian Goldwater Institute, said a declaration of marital law would be an extraordinary event and give military control over civilian authorities and institutions. Dranias said the Posse Comitatus Act restricts the U.S. military’s role in domestic law enforcement. But he points to a 1994 U.S. Defense Department Directive (DODD 3025) he says allows military commanders to take emergency actions in domestic situations to save lives, prevent suffering or mitigate great property damage.
Dranias said such an emergency declaration could worsen the economic situation and doubts extreme measures will been taken. “I don’t think it’s likely. But it’s not impossible,” he said.
The economy is in recession. Consumer spending is down, foreclosures are up and a host of businesses are laying off workers and struggling with tight credit and the troubled housing and financial markets. The U.S. Federal Reserve Bank and U.S. Treasury Department have pumped more than $8.5 trillion into the economy via equity purchases of bank stocks, liquidity infusions, Wall Street and bank bailouts and taxpayer rebates. U.S. automakers are seeking more than $14 billion in federal loans with fears they could fall into bankruptcy without a bailout. The U.S. housing and subprime lending-induced recession also has hit economies in Europe, Japan and China.
Gov. Janet Napolitano’s office declined comment on emergency planning and possible civil unrest. Napolitano is president-elect Barack Obama’s pick for secretary of Homeland Security, an agency that oversees airport security, disaster response, border security, customs and anti-terrorism efforts.
As governor, Napolitano sent National Guard troops to Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in 2003 in response to terrorism threats.
Glendale Police spokesman Jim Toomey said the West Valley suburb developed new emergency plans with the approach of Y2K computer changeovers leading up to the year 2000 and police have updated those plans several times including after 9/11. Toomey said strategies to deal with public unrest usually involve deploying personnel and equipment to deal with specific incidents while still providing usual services.
We are what we buy
A paralegal, recently laid off, wanted to get back at the “establishment” that he felt was to blame for his lost job. So when he craved an expensive new tie, he went out and stole one.
The story, relayed by psychiatrist Timothy Fong at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital, is an example of the rash behaviors exhibited by more Americans as a recession undermines a lifestyle built on spending.
In the coming months, mental health experts expect a rise in theft, depression, drug use, anxiety and even violence as consumers confront a harsh new reality and must live within diminished means.
“People start seeing their economic situation change, and it stimulates a sort of survival panic,” said Gaetano Vaccaro, deputy clinical director of Moonview Sanctuary, which treats patients for emotional and behavioral disorders. “When we are in a survival panic, we are prone to really extreme behaviors.”
The U.S. recession that took hold in December last year has threatened personal finances in many ways as home prices fall, investments sour, retirement funds shrink, access to credit diminishes and jobs evaporate.
AP
It is also a rude awakening for a generation of shoppers who grew up on easy access to credit and have never had to limit purchases to simply what they needed or could afford.
Instead, buying and consuming have become part of the national culture, with many people using what is in their shopping bags to express their own identity, from the latest gadgets to designer handbags.
For those who need to abruptly curtail spending, that leaves a major void, said James Gottfurcht, clinical psychologist and president of “Psychology of Money Consultants,” which coaches clients on money issues.
“People that have been … identifying with and defining themselves by their material objects and expenditures are losing a definite piece of their identity and themselves,” he said. “They have to learn how to replace that.”
Depression Trigger
Beth Rosenberg, a New York freelance educator and self-professed bargain hunter, said she stopped shopping for herself after her husband lost his publishing job in June.
She is now buying her son toys from the popular movie Madagascar for $2 at McDonald’s, and is wearing clothes that have hung untouched in her closet for years.
She said it has been stressful to stick to an austere budget after she used to easily splurge on $100 boots. “I miss it,” she said of shopping.
Resisting temptation now could be even more difficult, as struggling retailers roll out massive discounts to lure shoppers during the holiday season.
Fueled by easy access to credit, a housing market boom and rising investments, U.S. household spending accelerated in much of the past decade while the savings rate declined.
After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 killed thousands and shuttered U.S. financial markets, consumers were encouraged by politicians and business leaders to spend as a way of saving the economy and proving capitalism could not be crushed.
“We’re getting these messages that it is, in effect, patriotic to spend money,” said Stuart Vyse, a psychology professor and author of “Going Broke: Why Americans Can’t Hold On To Their Money.” The United States is deeply dependent on such spending, with consumption generating two-thirds of economic activity.
But problems arise when consumers become dependent on buying goods and services to cope with their emotions, Vaccaro said.
“We have difficulty handling our internal emotional state in other ways when we can’t do that,” he said, prompting some to seek out immediate gratification through drugs or alcohol.
Violent Behavior
Besides an increase in shoplifting, psychologists said retailers need to be prepared for more instances of violent behavior like that seen at a Wal-Mart store in Long Island, New York the day after Thanksgiving.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we see an uptick in crime, related to stealing,” said UCLA’s Fong. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more workplace violence and more violence at the malls.”
A throng of shoppers seeking rock bottom prices on flat-screen TVs and computers surged into the Wal-Mart
WMT store in predawn hours, trampling and killing a worker in the process. Fong said many shoppers have never stopped to think about why they were buying items, and it was easy to ignore looking deeper during a boom that support such spending.
But now, patients that can no longer shop to relieve stress have become anxious or depressed, he said. Others fume: “‘I used to be able to afford that, I should be able to afford that now, I deserve that stuff,”‘ he said.
But Vaccaro said the downturn could be a time for shoppers to pause and study what they are attempting to achieve or what void they are attempting to fill by spending.
“We don’t buy products, we buy feelings,” Vaccaro said. “We’re buying the anticipation of the feeling that we think that product or service is going to give us.”
Gottfurcht said he encourages clients to take a walk or do some deep breathing before making a purchase to avoid an impulsive buy. He also recommended that clients keep a journal, noting how they felt when bought an item.
He said clients should then check the list a week later to see if the “glow” of that purchase has worn off, and it only satisfied an immediate want, not a true need.
The greater opportunity of the downturn, Vaccaro said, is that it represents a chance to move away from “irrational” and “careless” consumerism toward “a more discerning consumer.”
Copyright 2008 Reuters.
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