By Igor Drobyshev, Staff Reporter
Gen. Colin Powell, the kid from the South Bronx who made good, may have retired from the Army, but he's still doing his bit for the service.
Thanks in part to Powell's reputation, the Army recruiting station at 226 E. Fordham Road is a busy place these days.
In fact, it is the busiest of 23 recruiting stations in the city, signing up more than 100 recruits and 50 reservists last year, said Sgt. 1st Class Maurice Jones, the station supervisor.
Powell, the son of immigrants from Jamaica, never served as enlisted man. He was commissioned as an officer after graduating from the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at City College in the 1950s. Still, borough residents considering a military career see him as a role model.
"Colin Powell has always been one of my inspirations. He has soared so high,'' said Asumoh Enyiema, 18, an immigrant from Nigeria who was seeking to sign up.
On a recent morning, through the office's open door, prospective enlistees could see women at the hairdressers' across the hall. One woman smiled and waved, "Hi!," but the young men were too nervous to pay attention.
Grady Dickey, 19, his brow beaded with sweat, walked out of the room marked "screening test area," where he had taken a 30-minute aptitude test.
"I think I have passed," he said, adding he was good at English and math when he attended Alfred E. Smith High School.
The motives of the men and women who come to join the service vary. Some people join, said Jones, because they want to learn a skill, and the Army provides training in 250 careers.
Others need money for their education, he said. After four years of service, they become eligible for college loans of up to $30,000.
"It will give me a good chance to see the world," said Dickey, citing another popular reason recruits give for joining.
But the world for the station's six recruiters see is University Avenue, Fordham Road, Jerome Avenue and other places young people gather. Recruiters go to high schools, set up displays and talk to individuals one-on-one.
Staff Sgt. Iram Betancourt, who is Bronx-born and used to be a high school teacher in the borough, said he sometimes sees his former students come into the office.
"It's a community job," he says, noting his ties to the place.
Recruiters don't grab everyone between the ages of 17 and 34. They screen people in terms of physical, educational and moral requirements. Candidates must have at least a high school diploma.
A criminal record also will in most cases disqualify a candidate from military service.
"All law violations are a big deal with the military," Jones said. "The military has another justice system. A crime like a drug charge may be identified as a misdemeanor in the civilian sector. In the military it's a felony. And it's not our job to correct society."