Some of Long Island's 'best and brightest' are in the Army now

Florin Andrei served for eight years in the military in his homeland of Romania but the Nesconset resident always saw the U.S. military as the ultimate test.

He knew of the storied reputation of America's fighting forces and learned English watching Hollywood's take on war and life in the service.

So at the age of 40 he's joining up. Andrei and several dozen new Army recruits took part in a swearing-in ceremony Thursday at the Suffolk County government headquarters in Hauppauge.

'Always my dream'

"When I emigrated here, it was always my dream," he said of wearing a military uniform with the Stars and Stripes sewn on the shoulder.

"But having my family and kids, it was tough," Andrei added. "Now, my kids are old enough and my wife has a good job. She can do well in my absence. So I'm like, this is my time, right now. It’s either now or never."

Andrei was among about 40 new recruits who came to the ceremony — the first hosted by the Suffolk County government in the H. Lee Dennison Building, officials said.

Convincing people nationwide to join the all-volunteer Army remains a challenge. In 2022, nearly one-quarter of soldiers who had joined that year didn't complete their initial service contract, according to an article posted last month by Military.com. Last October, the U.S. Department of Defense said though they had seen an increase in recruitment, it was still a difficult task.

Booming recruitment

In Suffolk, recruiters are seeing no such challenges. In fact, it was fitting, military officials said, to have Thursday's ceremony at the seat of county government because recruitment in Suffolk is booming. The Army has gone from getting a handful of recruits each week on Long Island to 15 to 20 a week, said Lt. Col. John Rhodes, who helps lead recruiting efforts in the New York City area.

In Suffolk, the numbers have gone from two or three a week a couple of years ago to seven or eight and sometimes as many as 12 a week, he said.

Suffolk has gone from being one of the "most difficult markets in all of the country" to "breaking all-time records," he said. "We are getting the best and the brightest for the Army from this county."

He attributed the increase in part to bringing in recruiters who are from Long Island and can better relate to the "unique" culture here, he said.

Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine saluted the patriotism of the recruits.

"This flag of ours only flies because men and women for years have said ‘I will volunteer. I will serve. I will protect my country,’" he told the crowd.

Gino Bonafe, 31, of Medford, said he was joining because he thought it was a good career opportunity that offered better prospects than his current job as a mail carrier.

For family

"I wanted to do it since I was in high school and I want to do it for my family," Bonafe said. "Give them all the benefits I can and give them a great life."

He added that he thinks the Army will spur a lot of "personal growth" and be "something that I could show my daughters that, you know, no matter how old you are, no matter what you want to do, you can always do it."

He initially thought he would go into communications or intelligence in the Army but has now decided to become a paralegal and a paratrooper. He reports on Aug. 12 to Fort Jackson in South Carolina for nine weeks of basic training to start.

Alkay Morgan, 23, of Amityville, said she emigrated from her native Jamaica last September after her mother petitioned for her to come here legally. She soon signed up to join the Army.

"I’ve wanted to join the army since I was a child but not in Jamaica," because if she did so, she probably would not have been able to leave the island, she said.

"I wanted to do it for my son," she added. "He’s my motivation for whatever I do."

She was one of only two women recruits at the ceremony on Thursday, but said she was not intimidated by the prospect of joining the mostly male Army.

"I’m not scared," she said. "I’ll make it, I’m sure."