Navy recruiter promises a dozen eggs to each new enlistee
SAN DIEGO — Petty Officer 2nd class Cristina Lopez-Padilla is innovating her approach to recruiting with one shocking item: a dozen fresh eggs. Recruiters have been known in the past to entice, or outright lie, to prospective recruits with the promise of $10,000, a brand-new Dodge Charger, or skills that can actually translate to work outside of the military.
Following news of rising inflation levels, the U.S. hitting the debt ceiling, and bird flu creating poultry shortages, Petty Officer Lopez-Padilla saw a golden goose opportunity and implemented a program called “Yolks for young folks.” Offering potential Sailors eggs as a “sign-on” bonus has allowed her to beat recruiting numbers from her peers in local Marine, Army, and Air Force recruiting offices.
“At first, they thought I was forging my numbers,” said Lopez-Padilla. “I had NCIS and IG coming in here clucking a lot after starting Yolks for Young Folks, but I was able to soothe their ruffled feathers once I explained the program’s impetus.”
Lopez-Padilla began recruiting in San Diego in November 2022, just before Thanksgiving. She noticed quickly that food prices were skyrocketing, and eggs in particular had increased in price by about 60% since the same time the previous year. At first, this just seemed to be an unfortunate fact of life, but then she came across a news article about famines and shortages in the USSR.
“I read about how so many people were starving to death in Russia, but if you joined the Soviet army, they would give you bread, and I thought to myself, ‘Why do the Soviets get all the good ideas? We should do something like that!’” declared Lopez-Padilla proudly.
This stroke of genius is set to make her recruiting office the most successful in the area by the end of the fiscal year. In mid-January, she received a letter from the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Mike Gilday, celebrating her ingenuity. Lopez-Padilla sees things, including the cost of eggs, only going up from here.