Several years ago at the dawn of this century, in their recruiting efforts the United States Army featured a commercial which in my estimation was both counterproductive and flawed to the core. The poorly produced ad, which closed with a soldier walking off alone in the desert, brought to the mind images of abandonment, dereliction of duty and rebellion. As if the visuals weren’t bad enough, the voice over peddled perhaps the most ironic and ridiculous military recruiting slogan ever - “An Army of One.”

Although it was obviously not in the same class as, “The Few, the Proud, the Marines” it is hard to fathom that it could have actually been any worse. It was gut-wrenching in its insufficiency even compared to the relatively weak, “Be all you can be.”

The current slogan, “Army Strong” has a strange broadness that does a terrible job in its attempt to convey any of the Army’s core values. Ideals like loyalty, honor, duty, respect, integrity, selfless service and personal courage apparently sell poorly against the idea of brutality and sheer force. Again, the commercials themselves aren’t much better. One 30-second ad in the “Strong” series shows a group of soldiers preparing for an airborne mission. As they stand and shuffle toward the door, the magic voice says, “If you are ever in an interview and are asked if you’ve had leadership experience (while jumping from the plane)…try not to smile.”

After attempting clever, the pitch is given - “There’s strong, and then there’s Army Strong.” I suppose that it serves as a slight upgrade from the AWOL plug, but it does best to appeal to the potential soldier’s future outside of or after the armed forces. It assumes a brief period of service which would only benefit the soldier’s resume.

It makes me do more than ponder the experience and effectiveness of the military’s public relations department. It makes me question it outright.

What’s the matter with calling on a man’s desire to protect, defend, and if need be, liberate? Patriotism seems to have lost out to corporatism. Serving one’s country is a unique experience that should be revered rather than reduced. It should be constantly applauded instead of consistently avoided. Because it is an honor, it should be portrayed as such, and our soldiers should be treated in kind. That is with great honor. Sadly though, at this present time, too often as a profession the military is demoted even by its own advertising to a tedious stepping stone. Granted, all the messages the Army sends out aren’t flawed, but a strong national defense is important enough to get right every single time.

Just briefly consider the young men and women whose job it is to recruit for the military during the uncertain times in which we live. Their job alone is difficult enough. Please, let’s give them some tools to help them succeed. It would be in all of our best interests.

In this respect, maybe a good question to ask would be: around what does the next proposed recruiting campaign center? Hopefully it’s not the global recession. I can almost hear the underwhelming mantra now - “The US Army…We’re always hiring.”

Please send your comments to Michael Andrzejewski at preacher@mbcportugalmissions.com