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Recruiting as a safe profession, especially when comparing them to their Fleet or Combatant counterparts deployed all over the world and to assist in the War on Terror. So why would anyone think Urban Recruiting is dangerous? Let me explain or set the stage as to why I think in our organization urban recruiting is a risky job. One must understand that Navy Recruiting District Atlanta involves three different states (Georgia, Alabama and the Florida panhandle) all of which have metropolitan areas that require recruiters to be stationed there.
These “Metro” areas have the most people density, therefore squiring more recruiters to target the larger audience. Not all metropolitan areas are risky to recruit in, but some more than others. There is obviously more risk involved in Atlanta, Georgia than in Multilevel, Georgia. Suburban and/or “country/’ recruiting is less dangerous than urban recruiting. Let us discuss Metro Atlanta recruiting. In Atlanta, recruiters must be vigilant to the crime in their surroundings. The more people in a geographical area the more likely criminal activity is to happen.
When I thought of recruiting in Atlanta I couldn’t help to think of the Fox network show “Cops”. I remember seeing the shows based in Atlanta and wondering if I was going to need a bullet proof vest to recruit. One must remember Wald 2 that not long ago Atlanta was considered the murder capital in the U. S. So when I started recruiting in Atlanta I went to a station in Decatur, GA Most of the murders in metro Atlanta were happening right in the quadrant my recruiting station was in.
When I arrived at the recruiting station I was briefed by the outgoing recruiting manager that they had witnessed a kidnapping in their front parking lot, the infamous Atlanta court room shooter had tried ding in their mall when he was running from the Police, the government vehicles had been shot at in front of the office during a drive by shooting and that at least once a quarter one of the services government cars had been stolen. If one was to think that this IS isolated to just this recruiting station, then hate to tell you that you are wrong.
When went to the Stone Mountain, Ga. Recruiting station we had the same issues. The next door barber got shot and killed during a drive by that involved some government cars being shot at. Go to the South West Atlanta recruiting station and you’ll find more of the same. In the College Park recruiting station you are welcomed by bullet proof glass and you have to get buzzed into the building. This is also not isolated to Atlanta, Georgia, because when I Was stationed in Fort Myers, Florida even though it was a smaller metro area we still faced some of the same challenges.
As a matter of fact, my own recruiter got shot during working hours in Fort Myers, Fl. He was out prospecting in a high crime area when he was the victim of a drive-by shooting which collectively left him with two shots in the back. They weren’t fatal shots, but did end up terminating my recruiters Navy career with a medical discharge. Wald 3 Are recruiters educated on the potential risks of recruiting in an urban setting? I don’t think so. I was not told of all the issues I would face in Atlanta and I had never been in Atlanta until I started working here.
I think this is one of the reasons why the Max,y tries to get its personnel that are from the local area back home to be hometown recruiters. It can be implied that since they are from the area, they understand the local culture and the risks associated with recruiting in these locations. The risks are acceptable and reasonable when one compares it to what our allow Sailors in the fleet have to deal with. Being in Iraq versus the potential drive-by in Southeast Atlanta puts things into perspective.
I think what’s acceptable and reasonable cannot be defined by one person, because I believe it depends on each individual’s point of view as far as what is tolerable. When the prospect of denying the urban market all of the opportunities the LLC . S. Navy is offering because its recruiters are afraid to recruit there, it makes one understand why we are there. I couldn’t be fine with refusing those young men and women the opportunities that the suburbs potentially cannot offered. After all, its not their fault they do not have the means to live in a better area.
As members of the Armed Forces we understand the risks we signed up for. We know that we could pay with the ultimate sacrifice. So being in a risky environment when doing our recruiting jobs is acceptable because our risk and sacrifice will benefit a greater number of people. It is also the governments responsibility to ensure ALL its citizens get the same opportunities. It is the right of the citizens of this great nation to expect the members of their Navy to provide their youth the opportunities afforded to others.