Posted on: Monday, August 9, 2004

MILITARY UPDATE
Recruits still pack Army camp

By Tom Philpott

Whether for patriotism, adventure or economic opportunity, recruits are streaming into Fort Benning, Ga., this summer for infantry training and a front-line role in the war on terrorism.

Even as news outlets emphasize the chaos and casualties of Iraq, and a divided U.S. citizenry debates the wisdom of the war there, the Infantry Training Brigade at Benning is flush with volunteers, many of whom can expect to face combat.

The swell of volunteers is more evidence, officials contend, of the resiliency and vitality of the all-volunteer U.S. military.

Lt. Col. Allen Smith, deputy commander of the Infantry Training Brigade, said in a phone interview that the courage of these young men, arriving in groups of 220 almost every Friday, will compare well in time to the celebrated, draft-induced Greatest Generation of World War II.

"It's just that history hasn't identified yet what this generation is going to do," he said.

Fort Benning, the hub of Army infantry training, is bustling as the Army tries to grow by at least 10,000 troops a year through 2006 to meet wartime commitments and ease the burden of too frequent deployments on the troops.

The Army is growing "as fast as we can," said Gen. Peter Schoomaker, its chief of staff, speaking at a July 26 news conference.

The Infantry Training Brigade at Benning has grown from 24 companies to 30 since spring and will reach 37 companies by December. The increase in training capacity will be enough to produce 10,500 more infantrymen a year, atop the present annual average of 14,000.

Apart from the obvious strain on recruiters who must scramble to sign up enough volunteers, the heavier stream of infantry recruits poses infrastructure and supply-line challenges at Benning, Smith said.

Modular barracks are spouting. Firing ranges are taxed. Dental and medical staffs need to expand. Extra buses have been leased to transport recruits between training sites. Extra bunks, wall lockers and personal gear, including helmets and packs, are on order. So far the brigade has avoided shortages that could slow training.

Brigade statistics show that the typical infantry recruit is 20 years old. All are men because women are not allowed in the infantryman specialty.

Seventy-nine percent of infantry recruits are white, 8 percent are black and 13 percent are of other races. Seven percent have some college background, 65 percent are high school graduates, and 21 percent have a GED. Seven percent are nonihigh school graduates. Ten percent are married.

After 14 weeks, most infantry soldiers go on to other training such as airborne school, Ranger indoctrination or Special Forces training. But some soldiers go directly to a divisional unit — and if that unit is headed to Iraq or Afghanistan, so are they.

Many military experts expected a dip in recruiting for the combat arms after U.S. forces invaded and occupied Iraq. That hasn't occurred, Smith said, and he isn't sure why.

Graduate soldiers and families, Smith said, are no more likely today to dwell on the dangers ahead than they were before the war in Iraq.

"There is apprehension but it is not widespread.," Smith said. "There is inquisitiveness but not massive (worry) over what they face."

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