San Antonio Proudly Lines Up Behind the Military Recruiter

[Kire]

By DAMIEN CAVE
Published: October 7, 2005

SAN ANTONIO - This city has its critics of the war in Iraq and its angry mothers who try to shame recruiters into going home. More than anything, though, it has a powerful patriotism and a deep respect for the military life.

At a time when the divide is widening between the cities and regions that send their children to war and those that do not, San Antonio remains a ready source of what the military needs most: people.

This metropolis - the home of the Alamo and the site of an Army presence since 1845 - is a top recruiting market for every branch of the military. The Army, in particular, which has struggled to sign up new soldiers during the continuing violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, has found the San Antonio area to be a reliable and steady source of recruits.

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/07/national/07antonio.html?th&emc=th&oref=login

[fudge stripe cookays]

1. I'm so glad I left that place....

The most miserable 3 years of my life were spent there.

How many do they have left now? 4? 3? Too many freaking bases in one city. No wonder the people there are brainwashed.

FSC

[pop goes the weasel]

3. remember

SA is still largely blue. People are very supportive of the military, but that doesn't make them supportive of federal policy. If you couch your arguments against particular policies in terms of how those policies hurt the military, you get a good response. But whether the policies are good or bad, San Antonio will keep sending its young people into the military service. It has been the only reliable way up and out for generations. When you come in with another reliable way for thousands to get out of the barrios and trailer parks, then maybe the recruiters will have a harder time.

[GOPisEvil]

2. That's because the job market there blows.

It's kept depressed by all the tourism jobs that don't pay anything. So, if you don't have a specific skill, you don't make squat generally. No wonder the military does well there.

[pop goes the weasel]

4. it isn't the tourism that keeps it down

It is the prevalence of low wages. Wherever wages are low, economic infrastructure suffers.