Fear of death, too much of a commitment, longing for comfort – these are the things keeping military recruitment of all ages in America at a critical low. Even with military recruitment at an all time low, there are still a few Mid-Pacific students deciding to enlist.

Senior Jake Hamadon is one of these students. He is joining the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program at Willamette University.

“I felt a sense of duty to my country. I want to make a difference,” Hamadon said.

Hamadon said he is grateful to his parents and is glad that he won’t be putting this financial stress on them, as the military will pay for his schooling.

The financial aspect is one that can be very enticing to students. The military pays for a student’s education, textbooks, can help to pay for housing, and the person would have a guaranteed job afterwards.

High school math teacher and ‘04 Alumni, Raymond LaFleur, started his service career in the navy then moved to active-duty marine corps as a helicopter pilot. Now, he is serving part-time in the Air Force with the Hawaii Air National Guard.

LaFleur said feelings like discomfort and the loss of accustomed freedoms (waking up when you want, no rules or regulations, etc.) are some of the reasons for why the youth of today aren’t enlisting.

He says it’s normal to feel fear when considering enlisting.

“I was so scared. I would say it would be crazy not to be afraid. But, at the end of the day, no one’s going to put you in a place where you’re in harms way before you’re ready for it,” LaFleur said.

Or it could be that it’s simply not the path for a person.

“Serving isn’t for everyone,” LaFleur said.

Consistent with the national low recruitment rates, the majority of Mid-Pacific students have decided against enlisting.

Junior Kailey Holbrook comes from a line of military service members. While she, like many of her peers, does not plan on following in her family’s footsteps, she had considered joining in the past, as her younger brother, Mid-Pacific freshman, plans to.

“I’m more of a creative person, like my mother. I’ve always considered joining because I know some amazing people in the military: my father, my grandfather, all of my parents’ friends,” Holbrook said.

She plans on pursuing a career in film-making to better suit her creative needs and follow her passion.

Holbrook suspects that the school’s arts program may be a reason why Mid-Pacific sees so few students enlisting.

“We’re a very arts-focused school. A lot of our students are more towards the creative side, like I am,” Holbrook said.

Women can be more hesitant to join the military as there is a large number of cases of sexual assault against women within all branches according to the Military Times.

“There’s a lot of aggression, mostly associated with masculinity, in terms of fighting. It is a factor people keep in mind and will keep in mind,” Holbrook said.

While the military constantly undergoes changes, the mission remains the same.

“We have to change the military to adapt to the tactics and strategy of what’s going on in the world and then we also adapt based on the type of people coming in,” LaFleur said.

They aren’t looking for anyone in particular to come in.

LaFleur said there is a misconception about who can enlist in the military when in reality it is such a vast field, one that anyone can join.

“You don’t need to be a certain person. In the long run, it’s actually better that we have different people,” LaFleur said.

But the people that do choose to enlist often have the same way of thinking.

“If I don’t help my country, who will?” Hamadon said.

This need to be selfless isn’t necessarily a common mindset in today’s world.

“In our media and our culture we are becoming more self centered, and my generation was already self centered [enough]. Fewer people are answering the calls [of]: How do I protect others? How do we preserve our way of life?” LaFleur said.

Enlisting is certainly not the path for everyone, but those who choose it as theirs will find support.

“The biggest benefit is there [to the military] are a large group of people that care about you and your success at every single level. The people around you care about you, they want to motivate you to be the best version of yourself,” LaFleur said.