Turning Teenagers Into Killers No Easy Task

[Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick] has plans to attract teenagers with video games, Web sites, cellphone text messages and helicopter simulators in the back of 18-wheelers. He wants to win over parents through commercials on the Food Network, visits to rodeos and Nascar races, and recruiters who have recently returned from Iraq and Afghanistan and can address concerns about war.

And if that fails, General Bostick also has cash: $40,000 in bonuses for some recruits who take dangerous jobs; $1,000 for soldiers who persuade friends to sign up.

… an advertising budget of about $200 million, and a horde of marketing tools, including a fleet of 13 tractor-trailers [$1 mn each] retrofitted to show off the Army's latest technology

… about 20 percent of the [Army’s] media budget now pays for appeals to parents on Home & Garden Television and the Food Network and through other outlets.

… Bostick said the Army was also expanding its relationship with Nascar, the National Hot Rod Association and the Professional Bull Riders Association. According to the plan, recruiters will visit schools and malls a few days before an event, offering free tickets and the chance to meet famous drivers or bull riders.

… Gary M. Bishop, chief of the advertising and media division, said the Army also mailed about 10 million to 15 million lead cards to teenagers each year….

Damien Cave, “For a General, a Tough Mission: Building the Army,” New York Times, 2/06/06.