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The Army's claim for effectiveness of the “Army of One” campaign is based mostly on an increase in recruiting contacts. Even before September 11, the site had about 26,000 hits per day, a level that the Army says is 238 percent higher than in the previous year. Recruits who first contacted the Army on-line were up 81 percent. All of the services claim even more dramatic increases in the number of contacts with young people in the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy.

Although the military considers its "Army of One" campaign to be a success, anti-militarism activists can still take heart. In the past, enlistments have taken a nose-dive when the public has come to understand that military service is about more than getting benefits. War means war, complete with the possibility of injury, death, friendly fire, exposure to environmental hazards, and Gulf War-like syndromes.

The new US policy of expanded war − which knows no geographical boundaries or time limits − is already causing many young people to lose enthusiasm for military service. Besides "reality television" is a fad that's soon to pass, and with it will go the resonance and entertainment value of the military's current recruiting drive.