A Sign (Up) From Above

The U.S. Army’s Golden Knights parachute team has served for years as ambassadors for the Army, appearing at events such as the Van Nuys Airport Aviation Expo this weekend.

But the team also has another assignment: recruitment. Each of the four parachute teams has at least one member whose job is to persuade young people to join the Army.

“We’re the goodwill ambassadors for the Army. Why not use it as a recruiting tool?” said Staff Sgt. Terry Rice, who made two jumps in the air show Sunday and serves as the team’s recruiter. “After the jumps, we have lots of kids who come up to us and say ‘I didn’t know you could do that in the Army.’ ”

Air shows have always been a good public relations event for the U.S. military. But today they play an increasingly important role in inspiring young people to join a military force that needs the help.

In the last fiscal year, the Army fell 6,290 enlistees short of its recruiting goals. Members of all the branches represented at the event Sunday said air shows provide a great environment for encouraging young people to sign up.

Maj. Scott Wedemeyer, a Marine pilot based at Miramar Naval Air Station in San Diego, said he decided to join the Marines after seeing a military air show.

“We come to the air shows to show taxpayers what they are getting for their money and to inspire kids who are interested in the military,” Wedemeyer said. “When you have 300,000 people out here, hopefully you’ll inspire some of them.”

He acknowledged the pressure is on to attract recruits.

“All of the military is having a hard time because the economy is so good,” Wedemeyer said.

Rice suggested the problem is that many young people today do not understand the pride and honor that goes along with serving in the military.

“The kids today think, ‘What can you give me?’ ” Rice said. “They have to realize freedom isn’t free.”

Diana Pacheco, a 17-year-old Pacoima resident who attended the air show with her family, said she plans to join the Navy in September.

“Seeing all the planes really encourages you,” Pacheco said.

While she is not sure if she wants to be a pilot, she’s ready for her parachute. “I’d like to jump out of a plane,” Pacheco said.

Sunday’s show displayed the ample hero worship that the events stimulate, as children asked pilots to autograph their shirts or pose for pictures. Pilots enthusiastically talked aviation history with the countless veterans who came by the tell them about the military planes from their era.

Lt. Cmdr. Ron Vaught, a Navy radar intercept officer, spent his day fielding questions about an F-14 Tomcat on display. Vaught said his target isn’t just teenagers looking to enlist in the next few years. Air shows can inspire big dreams in small children as well, he said.

“I always knew I wanted to fly when I was little,” said Vaught, who grew up in Redondo Beach and Palos Verdes and attended air shows as a child at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in Orange County.

An air show “definitely works,” he said.

“We talk to parents who want to get their children in the military. We talk to high school students who are looking for something to do,” Vaught said.

Air Force Capt. Ted Moore said he was also inspired by seeing military pilots at air shows.

“It’s a gee-whiz kind of thing. It piqued my interest in flying,” Moore said.

However, Moore said he doubts anyone would be inspired just by an air show to be a pilot. He suspects there are more influences than just that.

“It’s just one piece of it,” Moore said.