COUNTERING MILITARY RECRUITMENT
Articles: Military Recruiting: Personnel Crunch
Military Recruiters Success in Central Pennsylvania
Norm Jones, WNEP Local News
August 10, 2007
From $20,000 enlistment bonuses to free college scholarships, Uncle
Sam is putting on the full-court press to find a few good men and women.
From the campus of Bucknell University, Major Chris Griffiths showed
off the achievements of his ROTC cadets Friday, student soldiers from
Bucknell, Susquehanna, Penn College, Lycoming College and Bloomsburg
University.
Despite a national trend that shows soldiers are hard to come by, the
group of future officers has grown over the years.
"So I've increased the numbers steadily over the last three years, by
about 10 to 15 percent each. We haven't seen a decline. We've seen
increase," Major Griffiths said. "I'm not shocked. I'm really not."
While Griffiths is quick to point out the men and women want to serve
their country, they're also in it for the benefits, such as free
tuition, money for books and supplies, even up to $500 a month in
spending cash.
"It's changed dramatically. When I was cadet at Mansfield University
my monthly stipend was only $100. They only paid up to $17,000 in
tuition and fees," Griffiths added.
Those incentives have doubled and tripled.
While she comes from a military family, the bonuses were part of
reason, Second Lieutenant Katie Urosevich of Lewisburg signed up.
"So you come away with no students loans, you owe nothing, you have a
monthly stipend. After college you're not looking for a job, you
already have employment, you have benefits, it's a great
opportunity, " she said.
Army and National gGuard recruiters said central Pennsylvania has
more recruits than anywhere else in the state.
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