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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 7, 2018)
Shelter Prepared ‘City of Roses’ Volume XLVII • Number 44 County to use Walnut Park building for homeless Honoring VETERAN’S DAY See Local News, page 3 www.portlandobserver.com Wednesday • November 7, 2018 Established in 1970 Committed to Cultural Diversity photo by D anny p eterson /t he p ortlanD o bserver The first female senior enlisted leader in U.S. Army Recruiting Command history, Sgt. Maj. Tabitha Gavia takes a selfie in Vancouver with Union High School Associate Principal Tony Miles during a recent recruiting stop at the school. Moments earlier, Gavia gave Miles a military coin, considered a special honor. Recruiting Challenge Army jobs can appeal to all, top recruiter says by D anny p eterson t he p ortlanD o bserver Service, teamwork, and career opportu- nities are what are in store for people who join the Army. That’s the message from Sgt. Maj. Tabitha Gavia, the first female senior enlisted leader in U.S. Army Re- cruiting Command history. Gavia made stops in the Portland area last month to visit Armed Forces recruiting stations and local schools. Based in Fort Knox, Kentucky, she is essentially the right hand for the command general in charge of recruiting for the entire country, offi- cials said, which means being responsible for enlisting more than 90,000 people for Army jobs. Recruiting for the military is a chal- lenge, especially in Portland where there is a lack of knowledge about military life because of a low military presence in the area, a relatively low unemployment rate, a high volume of white color jobs, and high college enrollment rates. Nationally only about 29 percent of youth 17-24 years old qualify for mili- tary service, and a full 50 percent of those youth know little to nothing about military service, according to the U.S. Army Re- cruiting Command. Gavia, 49, is at the peak of a 30-year career in the Army. During her recent vis- it, she spoke with high school students in Vancouver about the benefits of joining the Armed Forces and let them inspect and participate in demonstrations of some real military hardware like flight simulators. She wanted them and others to know they too can find the level of success and satisfaction she had by joining. “I can think of no greater honor than ser- vice to country. And believing and doing something greater than yourself. And so that is my reason for serving,” Gavia told the Portland Observer. With benefits like tuition assistance, traveling to different countries, and instill- ing good work ethics, Gavia said there’s a variety of Army jobs that can appeal to just about anyone. “Whether you are the adventurous type and you want to go down that route, or if you’re interested in STEM and you want to do science and technology....everything C ontinueD on p age 8
