The guys charged with replenishing the Army's ranks are as welcome in some quarters as carriers of bird flu.

These days that fry-cook job at McDonald's is looking a lot more enticing to potential young recruits than it did a just few years ago. And parents across the land have come up with an alternate take on an old cheer, crying out "Go away, Army" to beleaguered recruiters.

The numbers tell the story. The Army just wrapped up one of its worst recruiting years since it became an all-volunteer service more than three decades ago. For the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the Army missed its annual recruitment target by 7,000 enlistees-the largest such deficit since 1979.

And the future doesn't look any brighter. The number of recruits signed up for the delayed-entry program has fallen dramatically the past couple of years.

That spells trouble for recruiters because they depend on the program to give them a head start toward meeting annual recruitment goals. In fiscal 2004, 46 percent of the Army's enlistment target was met upfront by recruits who had opted for delayed entry.

Last fiscal year, only 18 percent of enlistees were delayed entry, and the Army came up way short of its annual goal.

For the fiscal year that's just begun, the Army can count on only 11 percent of its recruitment target to be met by delayed-entry enlistees-which means recruiters have a lot of ground to make up in coming months.

There's no question that the relatively strong economy hampers military recruiters. Demographics pose a challenge, too.

According to Pentagon researchers, at least half of today's young Americans between the ages of 16 and 21 aren't qualified to serve in the armed forces because they don't meet education, health, or other entry standards.

But economics and demographics don't fully account for the Army's sudden recruiting woes. The real explanation boils down to a four-letter word that begins with a capital "I" and is commonly associated with other things starting with same letter-like insurgents and Islamists and that nasty new addition to our vocabulary, improvised explosive device.

The four-letter explanation, of course, is Iraq. And many would say that other I-words-such as ill-advised and incompetent-come to mind when they contemplate the Bush administration's military adventure in the Middle East.

Polls show that few Americans except hard-core Bush partisans believe in the Iraq war anymore. Even some veterans of the campaign are coming back questioning what's going on. At least half a dozen Iraq vets are running for Congress next year on a platform demanding an exit strategy.

It's in this hostile environment that the Army has launched a new ad campaign seeking to sell wary parents on the idea of their darling Johnny getting his gun. But how many moms and dads are eager to send their kids off to a disastrous occupation that's rapidly morphing into a civil war?

Sure, there are the true believers who'd say the outlook for Iraq isn't really all that bad. There's a slim chance they may even be right.

So why aren't these folks the first ones signing up for service (they're accepting recruits as old as 42!), or offering up their kids who are enlistment age?

Since a lot of the "stay the course" crowd is a little shy when it comes to approaching a military recruiter, perhaps the rest of us can give them a little push by passing their information along to the Army.

You probably know some of these pro-war types. Maybe you've had to endure the guy next door or the guy in church talking up the war.

Well, why not log on to goarmy.com and sign him up for an info pack? Old Earl can slap that flag magnet of his on the Hummer he'll be driving through Sadr City.

And high-school students, how about "volunteering" the teachers and administrators who've welcomed recruiters and JROTC programs into your classrooms? With any luck, school will be out for quite a while for Mr. Crabtree.

As for me, I've got my eye on a few scribes who bellowed for this war and branded those who opposed it as America-haters and friends of terrorists.

I know where some of you live, keyboard warriors, and I've got some phone numbers, too. The recruiters will be in touch.

Rick Mercier is a writer and news editor for The Free Lance-Star and a frequent contributor to Knight Ridder/Tribune wire service. He can be reached at rmercier@freelancestar.com.

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