Nationwide, the Army National Guard is short of its annual recruiting goal by 23%, but the Grand Rapids area recruiting office is exceeding its goal by 18% according to a story by WZZM 13. The article mentions that Sergeant John Bloye of the Wyoming National Guard believes the increase in recruits is due to “patriotism,” while the newsreader touts the signing bonuses and struggling economy as reasons to sign up. A similar story was also aired by WXMI 17 during which WXMI 17 essentially provided free advertising for military recruiters. The report talked about the “benefits” available to recruits (money for college, training, and cash bonuses) and quoted a recruiter saying that the increase in recruiters is due to “patriotism” and “9/11.”

Both the WZZM 13 and WXMI 17 stories failed to provide opposing perspectives, and they did not examine the role of race and income in military recruiting. The WXMI 17 story featured quotes from a Latina woman and b-roll of African American recruits, but made no mention the fact that people of color make up a disproportionate number of military recruits, with Latinos being targeted specifically in the past two years. The two stories also fail to mention that the military spends billions of dollars targeting low-income youth for service.

Nationwide, military recruiters are facing difficulties achieving their recruiting goals. In Sunday's New York Times, the Army admitted that it would not meet its yearly recruiting goal for the first time since 1999.