"We explain what the Army or the Reserve can do for them. A lot of young people don't know what the Army is all about. We are not what's in the old movies. The Army is a group of normal people who want to make a difference, not beat up on everyone we see, you know," he said. "I give the 'Enlisted Screening Test'- a pre-test to the 'ASVAB.' It is an aptitude or 'skills strength' test. We want our young men to know where they are strong." Clifton Robinson, a native of Mobile, was explaining modern day Army and Reserve recruitment.
Staff Sergeant Clifton Robinson is the "Active Army Recruiter" working in the US Army Recruiting Station at 30500 Highway 181, Ste 617. For those not familiar with Spanish Fort, that is in the "Eastern Shore Center." Robinson has been with the Army for a dozen years. Yes, he graduated from Mattie T. Blount High School and went Army after graduation. He is well-vested in south Alabama with his son and three daughters and a wife here in the Mobile area.
November 11 is "Veterans' Day." Zion Lutheran Church's "Men's 710" invited the Staff Sergeant to update them on recruitment and military service in 2009. "I want to get the Army name out there," Robinson will tell you. The recruiters' target group is 18 to 25 year-old young men. Their emphasis is on what the Army offers young people. The recruiters begin their education task in high school with information tables at school events where things like information pamphlets, mugs, pens and pencils, and the like seek to nurture an interest in developing skills by serving in the Army. But there is more to it and Robinson will explore modern day recruiting practices with the men of Zion's Men's 710 on the day before our nation honors its veterans.
Staff Sergeant Clifton Robinson may be contacted via phone at 251-621-4131 or e-mail at Clifton.Robinson@usarec.army.mil. General information regarding Army opportunities can be accessed at www.GoArmy.com.
