Five students who came into the Skyline newsroom to voice their concerns about military recruiters on campus refused go on record for an interview, but prompted a closer look at what students and recruiters are saying.Although those five students felt very passionate about recruiters on campus, many students, when asked how they feel about Skyline military recruiters, seem unconcerned as to their presence. Skyline student Anna Fishkina says she has no problem with the recruiters as long as they aren’t pushy and trying to ram stuff down our throats. “I don’t think they should be recruiting at high schools, but we are all eighteen and old enough to make our own decisions,” Fishkina said. Skyline Drama major Brianna Yee stated, “To be honest, I haven’t really seen them around that much.” But Yee, like Fishkina believe that the recruiters are just trying to sell a product.On the other hand Skyline Communications professor Phyllis Taylor addresses the presence of recruiters on campus in a broader sense. “At this point in time, the product that the military recruiters are selling is defective,” Taylor says. “The product is quite possibly an illegal war. If the war were a motor vehicle, it would not be allowed to be sold in the US because of the defects.”Psychology major Peter Sandoval says he spoke with US Marine recruiters on the Skyline campus two or three weeks ago. “If I don’t do well in school I might enlist in the Marines, but I hope the war in Iraq is over by then,” says Sandoval. Sandoval thinks the recruiters were a little aggressive when he contacted them and believes recruiters come to Skyline because students at a community college have less money and can’t afford a four year college.One recruiter on the Skyline campus, Army Sgt. First Class Ralph Guillermo, who works out of the Daly City US Army recruiting station, makes weekly visits to the Skyline campus and is always dressed in combat boots and black beret, the newest Army Combat Uniform (ACU).

“It’s a lot like fishing and sometimes I get a nibble”, Guillermo said. To aid in his recruiting efforts at Skyline, Guillermo is armed with a sales pitch of enlistment bonuses up to $40,000, and money for college up to $72,000. “I can’t understand why a student would work in a fast food place when they can enlist and make up to $4000 a month”, Guillermo said. Guillermo was quick to point out that a recruit’s monthly pay and bonus are dependent on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test (ASVAB), a physical exam, an extensive background check, and what job assignment the enlistee ends up with.Guillermo also mentioned a lesser known benefit that is appealing to students who are trying to obtain citizenship. By enlisting, the Army can expedite the immigration process for a recruit who is not a US citizen and can even help with getting his or her spouse to the United States without having to wade through miles of immigration red tape.President Bush issued an executive order in 2002 waiving the three year waiting period for naturalization for non-citizens in the military. In 2003, the US Congress voted to waive all immigration fees for non-citizens in the military and granted posthumous citizenship to any non-citizen killed in combat. According to the US Citizen and Immigration Services booklet, “Guide to Naturalization”, if you are 18 years of age and a member of the armed forces, the five year permanent residence requirement is waived for your spouse to apply for citizenship.According to the US Army’s website, the dollar amounts quoted by Guillermo for enlistment bonuses, college education and salaries are correct however the key words used by both Guillermo and the Army’s web site are “up to.” As of Jan. 18, 2006 there are six military occupational specialties (MOS) for active Army recruits that qualify for the $40,000 maximum bonus. A job as a fire support specialist, a multiple launch rocket system crewmember, Special Forces candidate, satellite communications systems operator-maintainer, and an explosive ordnance disposal specialist may land a recruit the top bonus if they enlist for four years or more.Salary ranges stated by Guillermo and the Army web site are a little confusing. An active duty Private (E1) starts out after four months making $15,282, this is the base salary. But the army has something called the “total Army compensation” that includes health care, retirement pay, childcare and free or subsidized food, housing and education. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the average Active Duty service member receives a compensation package of $99,000 a year, of which 60 percent is non-cash compensation.Big enlistment bonuses and money for college aren’t the only attractions. The Army has developed several marketing strategies directed at young adults. In November the Army announced their implementation of a “MySpace” Web page, where you can access a new version of their online video game, America’s Army: Special Forces v2.7, and engage in an interactive chat with an animated video guide named Sgt. Star. Visitors to the Army’s main web site can access an online message board and can even find downloadable desktop wallpapers rounding out the Army’s tools to get students and others to take the bite.With a proposed troop surge scheduled as early as this month, it is natural to assume that there would be a push in recruiting.”Our unit has a quota but there isn’t a quota for Skyline students”, Guillermo says.According to Department of Defense press releases, the goal for an increase of new full time Army recruits, has dropped dramatically from 6,150 recruits in November of 2006 to a goal of only 700 new recruits for December of 2006, with other branches of the military remaining much the same. This decrease in Army recruits is in spite of the predicted surge of 21,000 troops proposed by President Bush. Information obtained from the US Army’s web site indicate that this escalation in troops will be in full force starting this month and consist of troops already scheduled for deployment, redeploying troops, or extended the tour of previously deployed troops. Three brigades of troops in training in Georgia and Washington are to be deployed by the end of May.Military recruiters will probably remain on Skyline campus as long as the Solomon Amendment is in effect. This amendment demands that public colleges give military recruiters access to campuses and provide them with student information for recruitment purposes or risk losing federal funding and that’s money that no college can do without.