Staff Sgt. Don Jung sized up the young immigrant shifting nervously before him in a busy office, tucked inside a shopping mall near the USC campus.
"If you join the Army, you can get your citizenship in one year," Jung told the 24-year-old from Bangladesh. "You can continue your education while in the service too. The Army will pay for your college course. If you do that, what kind of job do you want to get?"
The man, who moved to Los Angeles with his family three years ago, stared back blankly. Jung pulled out a glossy pamphlet listing more than 150 Army jobs.
"How about financial management?" he asked. The man, who gave his name only as Rashid, did not look impressed. Jung changed tacks. "If you play guitar," he said, "the U.S. Army Band is also a job. We have various jobs, not just combat jobs."
Until this month, Army recruiters working in Greater Los Angeles had missed their goals for enlisting new soldiers every quarter since nine months after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Jung, a 17-year veteran born in Korea, is one of the Army's top recruiters here. In two years, he has signed up more than 30 soldiers, many of them immigrants like himself. But the Los Angeles Recruiting Battalion to which he belongs has met its annual recruiting goals only two times since 1997.
Major urban areas are tough for military recruiters; young people in rural parts of the country often have fewer opportunities and fewer impediments to service.
Los Angeles, with its many immigrants and poorly performing public schools, is especially challenging. Most people considering the Army, Jung said, don't pass muster.
In a 12-month period ending in September, his battalion signed up 1,407 recruits, far short of its 2,245 target. Before shipping out to boot camp, 140 changed their minds.
Now the Army is asking civilian leaders to help open doors for its recruiters in a city where opposition to the war is widespread and the few qualified are more likely to consider the Marine Corps or the Navy, which both have a bigger presence in California.
At a recent lunch at Dodger Stadium hosted by former Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda, Army recruiters made their pitch to more than 100 civic and business leaders, educators and entertainment figures who they hope will join a grass-roots advisory board set to launch next month.
"This is the first time in our nation's history that we are recruiting an all-volunteer force during a time of protracted conflict," said Lt. Col. Miguel Howe, commander of the Army's Southern California Recruiting Battalion. "It's not just the soldiers' responsibility to maintain this national treasure, but it's both a national and a local responsibility as well."
The advisory board, one of six planned across the U.S., is the latest in a battery of efforts to drum up interest in military service. The Army offers cash bonuses of up to $40,000 and matches recruits with companies willing to guarantee them a job interview upon completion of service. In addition, some candidates who do not meet standards are cleared to serve through a waiver process.
Earlier this month, Department of Defense officials announced they would start enlisting some foreigners who lack green cards but have been in the country legally for at least two years. The one-year pilot is limited to 1,000 recruits across all branches and is aimed at helping the military address a critical shortage of medical personnel and foreign-language specialists.
If expanded, such a policy shift would greatly increase the pool of qualified recruits in Los Angeles. Jung said he regularly receives calls from foreigners here on student visas or temporary work permits who want to know if they can extend their stay by serving. Until now, only permanent residents qualified for service.
Hard economic times may provide another opening. Recruiters have noticed an increase in queries from people in their late 30s and early 40s. The Army has raised its maximum enlistment age to 42. The declining job market probably helped the Los Angeles battalion sign up 588 soldiers, six more than its target, in the most recent recruiting quarter, which ended in mid-December. A drop in casualties in Iraq and the reduction of combat tours from 15 to 12 months also encouraged candidates, who are likely to be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan, recruiters say.
But the challenges remain daunting. The Army estimates that fewer than three in 10 Americans ages 17 to 24 -- the group targeted for recruitment -- meet its standards. Of those who qualify, one in 10 is interested in serving.
The demands placed on Army recruiters are not expected to decrease with a new administration in Washington.
Despite President-elect Barack Obama's plans to reduce the number of troops in Iraq, the Army is increasing its commitment in Afghanistan and wants to give soldiers more time at home between deployments.
