I Want YOU: James Montgomery Flagg's memorable image of Uncle Sam became the most famous poster in the world after it was adapted for U.S. Army recruiting campaigns in WWI and WWII.

Did you ever wonder why that image of Uncle Sam has such a stern visage that seems so incongruous with an inducement to join the military? Perhaps, it has something to do with the fact that the poster had added its famous line, "I Want YOU For U.S. Army" in substitution for the original message. This portrait of Uncle Sam was commissioned for the cover of the July 6, 1916 issue of Leslie's Weekly with the title "What Are You Doing for Preparedness?"

In those days, the subtleties of matching the graphic imagery of the facial expression with the slogan were apparently lost on the military marketing machine. Perhaps nobody even noticed at the time. Would that kind of communication disconnect work, these days?

It's a brand new world in today's military. See it for what it really is™: a slick branding effort aimed not at the recruits, who are as gung-ho as ever, but at their influential parents, who are a much harder sell when it comes to career opportunities for their college-aged offspring.

Mullen, the Defense Department's branding agency, has crafted a very persuasive expression of the value of enlistment in the military. It's titled Qualities For Life. And it reads, in part, like this:

"Qualities for a successful life. They are the benefits that cannot be quantified in terms of paychecks or vacation days. These qualities cannot be taught in a classroom or learned in entry-level jobs. They are an innate character trait; the trick is providing an environment that allows those qualities to emerge, to be honed, and to be utilized in everyday life. The Military provides a unique environment that does just that. It fosters and encourages the development of these qualities in each and every young person in the services."

Uncle Sam's "Nearest Recruiting Station" is being repositioned by a very well designed branding campaign. That's the trick.

Editor’s Note: Adherence to impeccable grammar is not the rule around here. However, when one is making a thoughtful statement on behalf of the government elucidating what "cannot be taught in a classroom" it behooves the writer to be grammatically correct. The phrase, "They are an innate character trait;" ought to have been written, "They are innate character traits;" don't you think?