Economy drives military re-enlistment

FORT RILEY, Kan. — Sgt. Ryan Nyhus spent 14 months patrolling the deadly streets of Baghdad, where five members of his platoon were shot and one died. As bad as that was, he would rather go back there than take his chances in the brutal job market in the U.S.

Nyhus re-enlisted last Wednesday, and in so doing joined the growing ranks of those choosing to stay in the U.S. military because of the bleak economy.

“In the Army, you’re always guaranteed a steady paycheck and a job,” said the 21-year-old Nyhus. “Deploying’s something that’s going to happen. That’s a fact of life in the Army — a fact of life in the infantry.”

In 2008, as the stock market cratered and the housing market collapsed, more young members of the Army, Air Force and Navy decided to re-up. While several factors might explain the rise in re-enlistments, including a decline in violence in Iraq, Pentagon officials acknowledge that bad news for the economy is usually good news for the military. In fact, the Pentagon just completed its strongest recruiting year in four years.

As for the Navy and the Air Force, early- and mid-career sailors and airmen re-enlisted at a higher rate in October than during the same period in 2007. The Marine Corps was not immediately able to provide comparative figures on re-enlistments.

Alex Stewart joined the Army two years ago, when the factory where he worked as a welder started laying off. He was sent to Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division, which suffered 87 deaths last year, the highest total suffered by the 20,000-member unit since the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan began.

When his hitch was up in earlier this year, the 32-year-old from Grand Rapids, Mich., didn’t hesitate to sign on for five more years. “I want a stable life for my wife in a very shaky economy,” Stewart said. “There were no other options.”

Stewart’s new assignment will take him to Germany, where he will serve as a truck driver, though it is always possible he could be sent back into combat.

“I figure if I do another five or 10 years in the Army,” he said, “the economy will turn around and I can get a truck-driving job.”

Army Spc. Alicia Fauls, 20, of Woodlands, Texas, had two years to go when she re-enlisted last week at Fort Riley, home of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division.

“I did have only two years left, but I’m not sure what I would do,” Fauls said. “It’s harder to find jobs. If I do wait to get out, the economy should be in better shape.”

The job market is still fairly good for veterans with technical skills, especially those coveted by defense contractors, said Carl Savino, a retired Army major who runs a company that offers employment services to new veterans.