Army recruiters say they’re facing a tough job when it comes to getting young people to enlist.

Sgt. Robert Farrington of the recruiting station in Hermitage said his office doesn’t recruit a high number of students each year. This year, he and his recruiters will contact 1,296 high school seniors, he said.

Farrington said so far he and his staff have contacted 800 of those seniors, and 14 have enlisted in the Army or the reserves.

"So many people think we’re just harassing the kids. We spend so much time dispelling rumors in recruiting," Farrington said. He said many high school teachers think recruiters are trying to talk kids out of a higher education.

But that’s not true, Farrington said. Recruiters realize college isn’t for everybody, and they also realize the military isn’t for everybody.

According to statistics from the Pittsburgh Recruiting Battalion, for every 250 contacts a recruiter makes, only 22 will schedule an appointment to talk. Of those, only 14 will actually show up for the appointment and only 3.4 will take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test.

Of the few people who take the test, only 1.7 will qualify for the military and 1.2 will actually sign a contract.

Farrington said recruitment picks up around July, when reality sets in for high school graduates who don’t have future plans.

Recruiting standards have also increased over the years, said Lt. Col. Robert L. Salvatorelli, commander of the Pittsburgh Recruiting Battalion. Ninety percent of all recruits must be high school graduates and 67 percent must score in the upper half of the ASVAB test.

"Soldiering is not as easy as it used to be," Salvatorelli said.

Farrington said many people believe that joining the Army means they have to pick up a gun and run into the woods to fight, but the Army is trying to change that image.