A local Army recruiter said Thursday that it's common to see a rush to enlist during times of war and conflict. But on Thursday afternoon, a day after the United States began its campaign against Iraq, traffic was light at the Army Recruiting Station in the Dobie Mall.
Sgt. 1st Class Robert Woolsey, commander of the Dobie station, said it remains to be seen whether the war with Iraq will translate into new enlistments, but he expects it will.
During peaceful times, people will often listen to a recruiter's pitch but don't feel it's the right time to enlist, Woolsey said.
"But then - bam! 9/11 or something like this [war with Iraq] comes along, and it's an extra spark that pushes young men and women into serving their country," Woolsey said.
One UT senior who stopped by Thursday said his interest was piqued by "all that was going on." He told recruiters that he had never considered enlisting before watching the war coverage on his TV Wednesday night. He left the recruiting station with a handful of brochures to mull over.
Woolsey said many people would be surprised by the level of patriotism in the University area.
"It's very, very high, believe it or not," he said.
Woolsey pointed to annual enlistment targets set for his station, which are close to being met just halfway through the fiscal year.
"The propensity to enlist hasn't gone down," he said. "We're still putting people in."
Local recruiters for other branches of the military would not comment.
Public affairs officers at regional recruiting offices in San Antonio said it was too early to speculate on interest in enlisting.
"As far as we can tell right now, it's just been consistent. We haven't noticed any spikes or peaks in interest concerning interest from events," said Staff Sgt. Kimberley Young with the Air Force.
Added the Army's Nelia Schrum, "Lots of times we'll get young patriotic Americans as the result of an event, but it's too early to tell."
While local recruiters spoke of patriotism and duty to one's country, public affairs officers at regional and national stations touted advertising campaigns as a key to recent growth in enlistments. Also important in today's economic climate were the pay and benefits, they said.
Doug Smith, with the Army's national recruiting offices, said interest in current events didn't have much impact on recruiting itself. Even before the war, the Army was "successfully meeting [its] recruiting missions," he said.
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