MONROE, N.C. — Amid rising threats around the world, a group of local teens is stepping up. They're enlisting just as the Army is spending $300 million in a blitz to fill thousands of desperately needed positions.
"A lot of people, when I first told them; they were kind of like, 'What? You going into the Army?'" said Kirsten Rogers who hopes to become a combat Medic.
Rogers turned heads at Parkwood High School when her friends found out that the girl who likes to ride horses joined the Army.
She's one of 11 local recruits being honored for their service by the city of Monroe. Channel 9 asked what made them enlist.
"Probably just to make my parents proud,” said Piedmont High School alum Shelton Herbert. Herbert was an Army brat and traveled the U.S. and Europe with his parents.
"Since I was a little kid, I’ve always wanted to do this,” Gigi Rodriguez said. Rodriguez, from Lancaster High School, hopes to be among the first women to serve as a combat scout.
The four teens had one thing in common: They want to help others.
"People think of, it's just fighting. No, that's not necessarily true. We go out there and we help other countries,” said Alex Day, who graduated from Bible Baptist Christian School in Matthews.
Staff Sergeant James Day, an Army recruiter, said it's getting harder to find recruits.
"This is something that very few people qualify for,” Day said.
It comes at a time when the Army is trying to add 16,000 more troops by September and as the U.S. continues its fight against terrorism and faces threats from countries, like North Korea.
But the young men and women told Channel 9 they're ready.
"We think what we're doing is the right thing to do, and what we're doing, it's not easy,” Rogers said.
"Fear and nervousness obviously come with the job, but that's part of the job is facing those fears,” Herbert said.
Officials with the Army expect it will be difficult to reach their goal of 62,000 recruits this year. Enlistment bonuses are expected to rise in order to help fill positions like intelligence, healthcare and air defense.
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