Recruiting Station Orange -- The majority of prospects in our target market were too young to remember, understand or feel the impact of Desert Storm. With the prediction of war looming on the horizon, it?s only natural to reflect on the last time U.S. forces were called up to fight in the deserts of Iraq. Today?s military buildup in the Middle East is the largest movement of troops since the Gulf War ended 12 years ago. According to the Veterans Administration, there are 572,520 veterans from that war. As of Jan.13, 2003, President George W. Bush has approved a force of 250,000 military members to deploy to the Gulf region. Recruiters are encouraging today?s youth to volunteer to serve in a military that may very well be headed to war. Will they be willing to take up arms and storm the battlefield?It is an age of uncertainty. The civilian population is apparently divided in their views on the prospect of engaging in a war in Iraq. Those who rally for peaceful resolutions to world conflict are being heard in demonstrations throughout the country. Wall Street is holding its breath as the political and military environments shift on a daily basis. Many former veterans wish they could still answer the call to duty while others are glad they won?t be reliving the experience. Some young men are apprehensive about the rumors of a draft for military service, while others hope they graduate from high school in time to be a part of what may evolve into the first war of the 21st century. Families of service members who are already deployed in anticipation of combat action balance pride and fear for their loved ones. Victims of the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the bombing of the USS Cole in the Port of Aden still seek justice for the deaths and scars left by those acts. But the vast majority of Americans have not committed their lives to defend all enemies; foreign and domestic. Do those who have volunteered to serve echo the same sentiments? Are the elite forces of the Marine Corps as divided in their potential to engage the enemy? The viewpoints do seem to vary from those being quietly thankful that they aren?t deploying to those who are foaming at the mouth in anticipation to hop a flight to ?where the action is.? Some are living the anticipation vicariously through a spouse who is deployed. But no matter what their initial reaction to their Corps? call to action, Marines do seem to have one common response; they would not hesitate if called upon. ?If they told me I was going, I wouldn?t hesitate,? said GySgt. Maurice Ortiz, operations chief, Recruiting Station Orange. ?But I?ve been there and had bombs dropping on my head and saw things I wouldn?t want to see. At this point, my family is more important to me than when I was a young sergeant.?According to Gen. James L. Jones, NATO Supreme Commander in Europe, 65,000 to 75,000 Marines would probably be involved in any military action against Iraq.The majority of Marines know that their mobilization could come any day. For others, they may continue their careers far removed from any conflict or contingency, never having to realistically consider the possibility of experiencing the effects of a war in the near future. They?re not injured, untrained or afraid. They are simply recruiters and support personnel assigned to identify, qualify, contract and prepare today?s newest warriors.Being a Marine serving on recruiting duty seems to have some Marines up in arms over their inability to join the fight. It?s a bittersweet duty when you have committed your life to serve, protect and defend your country and the closest you come to combat is hearing about how grueling the field training was from a newly graduated Marine. A new Marine who could very well be shipping out in the near future to face the real field ? the battlefield. ?I was there the last time,? remarked GySgt. Alex Brooks, noncommissioned officer in charge, Recruiting Substation Pomona, RS Orange. ?I?d prefer to be there in the real deal; but I do think we?re making a difference here.? ?Some of the kids I?ve enlisted are there, so in a way I?m there ? in spirit,? Brooks, a highly decorated Gulf War veteran, elaborated. As the unavoidable daily news reports of deploying Marines escalate, so do the feelings of being left out of the country?s call to duty by Marines serving in the recruiting world. According to a poll of Marines at RS Orange, 96 percent of them stated that they would prefer to deploy for possible action, and of those, 95 percent said that it bothered them that they were prohibited from having that opportunity.?It irks me that there are people going who don?t want to; I want to and can?t,? said Sgt. Ryan Risher, recruiter, RSS Anaheim, RS Orange. ?I?ve spent years in training and now I can?t do what I came into the Marine Corps to do.? Risher went on to say that he is doing his job here to the best of his ability; that?s who he is. But deep down ?