A New Order: Spring 2010

Preparing to leave for basic training hasn’t been as easy as simply packing a suitcase and grabbing a passport.  Anny Mariano, a 23-year-old college student from the Bronx, shipped out on May 12 and during the weeks before she left, she had been going to the gym twice a day in order to prepare for the physical challenge of what lied ahead.

In addition to working out she had to get all of her paper work in order including her passport, birth certificate, and passing a physical exam. Lunch dates, dinner invitations and other social gatherings with friends filled up the rest Mariano’s schedule. “I want to spend as much time as I can with everyone, especially my mom because who knows when I’ll get to see them again.”

The recession forced Mariano to give up on her dreams of one day becoming an acclaimed actress and instead play the role of a chemical operations specialist in United States Army. Mariano is just one of the many looking for a steady income and a way out of debt in an economy where everyone is struggling to stay afloat.

By deciding to enlist, Mariano has chosen to leave behind her part-time job in Brooklyn as an HIV awareness speaker, her friends, her family, and an associate’s degree from Borough of Manhattan Community College. “My motivation is I’m broke. I realized that I don’t want to wait around for something to just happen. When you join the military you go to school and you’re doing something. I realized that if I stay here I’m going to struggle everyday forever with student loans and things like that. I want to see the world, learn something and be somebody and the military offers that.”

For new recruits like Mariano, who sign a three-year contract and have less than a Bachelor’s degree, the military is offering to pay $24,000 a year just in base salary. She’ll get her rent paid in full for all three years and as she moves up in military rank, so will her base pay.

If she were to get deployed to a high-risk war area like Iraq anytime during her three years of service, she would receive an additional monthly bonus. Ingrid Mariano, Anny’s oldest sister, just completed her eighth year of service in the Army and recently came back from Iraq with $36,000 in bonuses alone for being in a high-risk war zone. “Add that to the $30,000 or so I made in base salary and you can say that last year was a good year for me. Who do you know can say they made even half of that last year alone?”

With the unemployment rate in New York reaching 10 percent in March, Mariano has had to deal with a larger applicant pool and greater competition when applying for jobs. “Every time I go to an interview there’s one person interviewing before me and by the time I walk out there are like three other people waiting to interview.”  Getting noticed in such a large group can be difficult enough especially without a degree to help set you apart.

Since freshman year, Mariano has worked part-time and has shared the cost of household expenses with her twin sister Angie and their mother. Every year since entering college, Anny has had to apply for student loans in order to pay for her classes and books. “The debt was starting to become too much. I felt like there was no end in sight. I had to make a decision between getting an education or finding a full time job and paying off my loans.” With the military she doesn’t have to make that decision. At the army she can make money, get rid of her debt, and get an education all at the same time.

Mariano sees the military as one of the few places willing to give her the opportunity at a high-paying career. While interviewing for the army, she did not have to worry about how many people were interviewed before her or after her. They were offering her the opportunity to work and offering her job security when no one else would.

But even with all the benefits she’ll be enjoying, joining the military wasn’t an easy choice. Having to leave behind the life she knows, all her friends, all her family, having to know that she won’t be around for birthdays or special occasions hasn’t been easy. “I have to get out of here. It’s going to be tough but if I don’t do this I’ll never make it out of here.”

Anny’s twin sister, Angie, decided to make a similarly tough decision last year and joined the National Guard. Angie is currently living back at home working wherever she gets a chance, too.

Unlike the army the National Guard requires its new recruits to complete basic training and then choose what state they would like to be stationed. Unfortunately from there your back on your own and have to find a job for income like everyone else. Angie enjoyed all the monetary benefits the military offered during her period of active duty but once she returned home and became inactive the money stopped.

The army is going to provide Anny with a career as a chemical operations specialist so that after basic training she can begin learning, and working in her field and won’t have to worry about what her life is going to be like after the military.

Anny’s mom is no stranger to the stress of preparing to leave. After all, Anny is the third daughter she is preparing to say good-bye too and hand over to the military.

“It never gets any easier. With Ingrid, Angie, and now Anny leaving I still feel worried and sad at the same time. Anny’s my baby so I’m sure it’s going to be harder this time.” Still Mrs. Mariano makes sure to remind Anny of her upcoming appointment at the Fordham recruitment office and of anything else she has to take care of before leaving.

While talking to Anny about the journey she is about to embark on you can’t help but notice the hint of sadness in her voice. The way her eyes wander and stare into emptiness when she talks about leaving and what it’ll be like when she comes back. “I wish things were different but they’re not. I refuse to become a product of my environment and if this is what I have to do in order to make it then so be it.”