KENNEWICK, WA -- Uncle Sam wants you, and in this economy, dozens of you want Uncle Sam too. More people are trading unemployment for a military uniform as they struggle to land a job in a war-torn market.

In fact, the record recruitment numbers are the highest since the end of the Vietnam War, according to 2009 numbers from the Department of Defense (D.O.D).

"I'm reallly nervous. Like, it really hit me when I woke up, that it's going to be completely different," recruit Melissa Kratz said.

Melissa Kratz is joining the Air Force, trading up years of customer service to serve her country.

"The fact that we get to serve our country and we're doing something good for another," she said, explaining her decision to join.

No one can deny Melissa's tenacity. She worked at Joe's Sporting Goods until the bitter end, when bankrupty finally bottomed out the company. And for three months, she pumped out resumes and interviews to no avail. Melissa finally landed a job at Amazon in Kennewick, but trips with friends to the Air Force recruiting office during the summer had already sealed the deal.

"Not being able to find a job right away was probably the biggest impact, a big of reason why," she said. "It was a good time to join."

In the wake of roughly 10 percent unemployment in the Tri Cities this year, dozens of others opted for a career in the military too. Numbers from the D.O.D show every branch of the armed services hit or exceeded their recruitment goals.

"Some of them wanted job training, most commonly I would hear 'I wish this is something I'd done with I was younger," Sgt. William Robb said, an Army Recruiter.

"It's going to pay for the maximum amount of tuition for any in state college for three years," Sgt. Keith Caldwall said, Army Recruiter.

Aside from education, there are signing bonuses, housing and clothing allowances, free medical and dental care, food allowances and retirement. It's often, enough to outweigh the threat of going to war.

"I thought about it cause coming out of training, the chances of me getting shipped off to one of those places is probably pretty good. But that's a risk you have to take," Melissa said.

It's a risk Melissa will take will pride. And from Joe's to G.I. Joe's, who knows where the Air Force will take her next.

"After tomorrow, it's kind of like the start of changing my life," she said.

Melissa is packing her bags to leave Thursday night for the Military Enlistment Program in Spokane, which will make her commitment official.