SAN DIEGO COUNTY AND THE PERSIAN GULF CRISIS : Eager Veterans Deluge Military Recruiters

Military recruiters in San Diego County are deluged with calls from former servicemen, some of them retired, offering to rejoin the armed forces because of the Middle East confrontation.

One Marine Corps recruiting office in San Diego is getting about five such inquiries a day, and Sgt. Michael Larkin is amazed by all the calls, especially those from men over 40.

“A lot of older guys are saying, ‘I’m here if you need me,”’ said Larkin. “I’m surprised at that, to tell you the truth.”

The problem is that the military can’t use most of them. The majority are considered too old. And the armed forces for the most part don’t need an infusion of new manpower right now, and probably won’t unless the Middle East situation explodes or drags into a long ordeal.

The Army is hearing from “people who served in Vietnam and used equipment that’s not even in the inventory any more,” said Ron Van Dyck, spokesman for the Army’s local recruiting operation.

There’s only room for a slim minority of veterans who have specialized skills needed to support the Middle East campaign.

For example, the Marines are willing to take back those with reconnaissance expertise, while the Air Force might consider new enlistments for language specialists and aircraft mechanics.

The more typical scene was exemplified last week by one local recruiting office, the Marine Corps station in the Clairemont area of San Diego:

The phone rings periodically with calls from former Marines offering to re-enlist, but recruiters politely thank them and explain that the Corps’ ranks are full right now, and the veterans aren’t needed.

Recruiters do not even take the names of prospective volunteers, most of whom, by age or other factors, are unqualified to rejoin the military.

The recruiters find that the numbers of young people knocking at their door have not increased significantly. Among the young people who are visiting, most are doing so regardless of the Middle East peril and not because of it.

One new recruit at the Clairemont station says he is aware of the hostilities with Iraq but unworried about shipping out to the danger zone.

“I don’t see my going nowhere at this particular moment,” says 19-year-old Kevin Williams of El Cajon, who has just been signed up by his recruiter-brother, Sgt. Ernest Williams. “I try not to think about it. I just want to get my career on pace and set a goal for myself.”

Visions of faraway combat also seem remote to Sean Dowling, 18, of San Diego, who eventually wants to go to college and become a psychiatrist but believes he must first learn the discipline that military life teaches.

Dowling isn’t exactly itching for harrowing adventures as a Marine, but also appears unafraid of the prospect.

“I always liked a challenge,” says Dowling, who seems more interested in achieving his life’s ambitions than wary of the Middle East problem. “If I do go over there, I’m going to be trained, and you’re doing it for a reason.”

One recruiter recalled that there was more zeal to join up in 1983, just after 241 U.S. Marines were killed in the terrorist bombing of their barracks in Lebanon.

Some recruiters reason that the current standoff with Iraq simply hasn’t galvanized the nation’s patriotic fervor enough for legions of young people to take up arms.

“Things are hot, but it’s not a fighting war yet,” said Maj. Art Corbett, who commands the Marine Corps recruiting effort in San Diego County.

The tense military confrontation might not be bringing droves of fresh faces, but it gives recruiters optimism that the military is coming back in vogue.

Calling it a “silver lining” for recruitment, Corbett predicted that the situation will bring “a renewed understanding, the fact we need now and always will need quality young people to defend their country.”

In addition, some recruiters say the mobilization might persuade the public and Congress in this time of reduced Pentagon budgets to support a well-funded military.

Over the last year, extraordinary changes in the Soviet Union and Communist Bloc nations have sparked calls for cuts in military budgets.

“We feared the repetitive news about military funding sooner or later would engender indifference” and made it hard to meet recruitment goals, said Corbett.

Overall, he said, budget cuts actually forced a reduction in some recruitment goals.

The Air Force, for example, had planned to recruit 54,000 people nationwide during the fiscal year, but dropped the number.

“With what happened in the Warsaw Pact, and people saying peace is breaking out all over, we scaled back to 36,000,” Air Force Maj. Lou Figueroa said.

Recruiters say they are adamant about standards, and, despite the Middle East situation, still turn away applicants who aren’t quite ready.

One Marine recruiter talked extensively with Mike Jones, 20, of San Diego, and thought he possessed many of the qualities needed to join the Corps. Certainly Jones had the strong desire to be a Marine.

“This is something I’ve wanted to do since I was a little kid. I’ve got a few friends over there now, and I feel left out,” said Jones, who “even put my hair in a ponytail so they (recruiters) didn’t think I’ve got massive hair.”

Actually, the hair didn’t matter so much, but a sergeant did advise Jones to get rid of his earring. More importantly, he was advised to get a high school diploma--he’s only four units short--then come back to discuss enlistment.