With military recruitment numbers continuing to spiral downward, this week’s quote of the week got us thinking. All the military really needs is better marketing. You can’t really envy their task in trying to get people to sign up for an unpopular war. Maybe they need to play down the grim realities. Play up the softer side of the military. Use things like the volleyball montage from Top Gun to show that doing your duty for God and Country can be just like a vacation. Just please ignore any and all homoerotic subtext, no matter how much Maverick and Iceman grin slyly at each other with the sun glinting off their oiled chests. And the slogans need work. I don’t know about you, but I’d prefer to not be an “Army of One.” If I’m going into combat, I’d kind of prefer to be in an “Army of a Whole Lot More Than the Other Guy Has.” The woman in this week’s top quote is on the right track. I think something like “Navy: For People Who Like Paddling and Water and Stuff” has real potential.

Quote of the Week

Dupont Circle, girl on a cell phone:

“The Navy?!?”
(pause)
“But does the Navy get called up? I mean, I know the Marines do… they do everything.”
(pause)
“Yeah, if I was gonna be in the armed forces, I would have done the Air Force or the Navy. The paddling, the water… I like that kind of stuff.”
(pause)
“Yeah… so does the Navy really get called up?”

After the jump, lube jobs, Strom of the Dead, and being rich means never having to say you’re sorry.

This being a holiday weekend, we will make exceptions to the “In D.C.” rule for next week: Overheard at the Beach is a perfectly acceptable substitute. Either way, send your quotes to overheardindc (at) gmail (dot) com.

Photo by Flickr user Miscelena.