Editor’s note: This is part two of a two-part series about military recruiting on Kaua‘i in light of the struggling economy, both locally and nationally. Part one ran Sunday. LIHU‘E — It’s no secret jobs are hard to find on
Editor’s note: This is part two of a two-part series about military recruiting on Kaua‘i in light of the struggling economy, both locally and nationally. Part one ran Sunday.
LIHU‘E — It’s no secret jobs are hard to find on Kaua‘i with as many as 3,050 residents currently seeking employment, according to numbers reported last week.
But for two Kaua‘i residents, it wasn’t the lack of work that prompted them to join the military. They joined the Army to pursue greater opportunities and so they wouldn’t have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet.
First-time enlister
Steven Logan, a 27-year-old Lihu‘e resident, enlisted in the Army for 31/2 years.
“It’s my opportunity to show my nieces and nephews that when you commit to something, you have to stand by it,” Logan said in
an interview earlier this month before he left for basic training.
Logan said he recognized the growing demand for work on Kaua‘i, citing his sister’s experience of receiving more than 200 applications for several minimum-wage paying positions at Eggbert’s restaurant in Wailua where she is the manager.
But Logan was working two jobs — far from unemployed — and was looking for a better opportunity and career advancement which he found in the Army. He did not take his decision lightly and said he spent four years thinking about enlisting.
“There’s too much out there not to get on it and take the opportunity,” he said.
Logan graduated in 1999 from Kaua‘i High School where he played football. He later earned an associate’s degree in hotel management and a certificate of completion in culinary arts from Kaua‘i Community College.
“I’d like to go back to school to finish my degree,” Logan said when asked why he joined the Army.
The post 9/11 GI Bill, an education benefit program for individuals who served on active duty on or after Sept. 11, 2001, is one of the main reasons he joined.
“I’m getting paid to go to school and the military is going to teach me things that can help me out for the rest of my life,” Logan said.
Though Logan has not been directly affected by the economic recession, it’s still on his mind.
“Yeah, the economy is getting worse and I don’t want to be around when it might affect me,” he said.
Logan left Kaua‘i April 6 for basic training at Ft. Jackson, S.C. After he completes basic training he goes to advanced individual training at Ft. Bliss, Texas, where he will learn the jobs he is to perform in the Army.
He plans to return to Kaua‘i in 51/2 months to work with Staff Sgt. Richard Basl in a recruiting assistance program.
Going back
Army specialist David Denson, a 37-year-old Hanalei resident and single father of four daughters, re-enlisted in theater — the region in which active military operations are in progress. It was a place where Denson said retention was very high, noting around 300 to 400 soldiers in line at the time of his re-enlistment.
“I could have got out but nothing’s really changed on Kaua‘i,” Denson said. “There’s no more opportunity … My uncles said the smartest thing you can do is stay in the Army.”
Denson is home on leave from Schofield Barracks on O‘ahu. He is passionate in his activism and research for Hawaiian rights as well as his desire to help create a drug-free environment for his daughters and area youth.
When Denson first joined the Army, “the economy was still bustling,” he said. The two biggest reasons he joined was to help his family pay property taxes by using an enlistment bonus and to go to school to become a history teacher.
Like Logan, Denson was working two jobs before he left.
“How will I ever get further than this while working two jobs?” Denson recalled, so he enlisted for four years.
“The Army takes really good care of us. This year I’ve gotten 48 off days and 30 days paid leave.”
The Army provides medical care for Denson’s daughters who live on Kaua‘i; the oldest attends Kamehameha School Kapalama Campus on O‘ahu.
“You’re making that guaranteed check every month,” Denson said, also including the VA loans and GI Bill as incentives to stay in the Army.
“A lot of the younger people can’t find jobs on Kaua‘i. Driving around, I’m seeing a lot of workers who probably can’t do the job the young people can do,” he said. “You get these young kids who got to wait until 30 before they get established enough to support their family.”
Denson returned to base Thursday. When he accomplishes his goal of becoming a history teacher, he said he plans to infuse more local island history into his curriculum.
