Traditionally, Latinos have not been represented in the military as much as Blacks. However, the military is desperately trying to change that as demonstrated by recent efforts by recruiters to step up their recruitment of Latinos, using bilingual recruiters and paying careful attention at fostering close relationships with the potential enlistee’s family:

In Denver and other cities where the Hispanic population is growing, recruiting Latinos has become one of the Army’s top priorities. From 2001 to 2005, the number of Latino enlistments in the Army rose 26 percent, and in the military as a whole, the increase was 18 percent.

The increase comes at a time when the Army is struggling to recruit new soldiers and when the enlistment of African-Americans, a group particularly disillusioned with the war in Iraq, has dropped off sharply, to 14.5 percent from 22.3 percent over the past four years.

The recruitment campaign has in fact divided the Latino community. Some of the country’s high-profile Latino organizations, like the League of United Latin American Citizens, support the military’s efforts, viewing it as an important path to socioeconomic advancement. . . .

But community activists in places like California and Puerto Rico call that logic wrongheaded. “This is not the time to sign up,” said Sonia Santiago, a psychologist and founder of Mothers Against the War after her son, was sent to Iraq in 2003. Dr. Santiago has routinely confronted recruiters outside schools. “Those benefits don’t mean anything, if they are buried or sick for the rest of their lives,” she said.

It’s interesting to see the U.S. military use racial/ethnic solidarity as a tool to recruit young Latinos in the military. And it’s just as interesting to see how these intensified recruitment efforts have divided the Latino community. It just goes to show that the Latino community does not speak with one voice, nor should we expect them to.