Army Won't Round Up Recruits at Rodeo

SANTA FE, N.M. - The city's Army recruiting center has chosen not to participate in the Rodeo de Santa Fe this year after the event's board of directors asked it not to actively recruit on the rodeo grounds.

The board voted June 17 to prohibit "active recruiting" by the military, said Chris Czmyrid, marketing director of the rodeo, which kicks off with a downtown parade this morning.

Military recruiting in schools and other public places has become controversial in recent years as the war in Iraq has raged on.

But Czmyrid said the decision to prohibit recruiting was reached because the rodeo is meant to be a fun, light-hearted event, and deciding to enlist in the military is serious business.

Czymrid said the United States Army Recruiting Command, which operates at the Santa Fe Place mall, had been a positive presence at the rodeo for several years, as both a vendor and a sponsor with a rock climbing wall, a laser tag game and a booth that provided literature.

Czymrid said the Army recruiting center was welcome to participate again this year. But Czymrid said the Army ultimately decided not to, after determining it wasn't worth if the cost of a vendor booth recruiting wasn't allowed. 

The 59th annual rodeo parade is scheduled to roll back through downtown June 24 after being held on Rodeo Road on the southside the last two years because of construction.