By Capt. Steve Alvarez, USA
DAYTONA BEACH, FL -- To passersby, a $150,000 custom-built motorcycle might not have much to do with the Air Force, but recruiters beg to differ.
The motorcycle may not have a military function, but it has a social one -it is a bridge, an icebreaker, something that drew NASCAR Pepsi 400 racegoers to the Air Force display here at grounds of Daytona International Speedway on July 2. Members of the Air Force's 336th Recruiting Squadron set up shop, pressed palms, distributed Air Force trinkets, and helped people get their pictures taken next to the glass-encased chopper.
They also put a face on their military branch.
"This is more about public awareness," Tech. Sgt. Joe Ringold said. "This lets them know we're here," the 22-year veteran and former computer maintenance technician added.
Ringold is a recruiter assigned to the 336th based out of Moody Air Force Base, Ga., and admits that the displays sometimes do more than just serve as a public outreach tool. "We do generate some local leads at these events sometimes," he noted.
Children and parents approached the display as Ringold watched from the shade of an awning, greeting them as they stared at the motorcycle, mouths gaping. The bike was commissioned by the Air Force and built by Orange County Choppers, a company featured on the Discovery Channel's "American Choppers" program.
"A lot of the youth and older males watch the show," Ringold said. And although most of the people visiting the Air Force display come to see the blue chopper and don't necessarily seek to wear the blue uniform, Ringold said it is personally and professionally fulfilling because he became a recruiter to "get out and be interactive with people." It is something he plans to do until he retires, he said.
"This is awesome," said a boy as he and his father posed for a picture. The recruiters standing near the bike smiled as the family walked away, stopping by a table as they left to pick up some Air Force pencils, key chains and other blue-colored paraphernalia.
And although there were no discussions with the family about the Air Force, military recruiters say that interactions like this leave an imprint on the public. They get to see their military men and women in uniform and it leaves them with a good feeling about their armed forces.
"It helps a lot of people to see that we're people," Army Recruiter Cpl. Alex Croteau said. "We're not there to get people, throw them in a car, and make them join the Army," he said with a laugh. Croteau manned an equipment display set up outside the Daytona International Speedway on the July Fourth weekend, less than 100 yards from his Air Force counterparts and a couple of hundred yards from the Navy.
He greeted visitors as they entered the trailer, viewed different Army uniforms and handled Army equipment. Nearby, two young men played "America's Army," a computer game where the players are at war and make their way to objectives, firing computer game weapons. Next to them, another young man donned a flak vest and asked Croteau questions about the vest's weight and comfort.
Croteau, a 25 year-old former multimedia illustrator from Melbourne, Fla., is a recruiter assigned to the Army's Recruiting Command. He said displays like the massive Army presence at Daytona give recruiters a chance to interact with the public one-on-one. And they the public to the services using attractions that are nontraditional for the military, he added.
The Army's traveling display is interactive, and almost like a theme park. It includes a rock-climbing wall, a flight simulator, computer games, personalized dog-tag making machines, a theater, and for NASCAR events, a simulated race track pit area where visitors can challenge the clock and, like a race pit crew, change the tires on a full-sized Army NASCAR vehicle.
