COUNTERING MILITARY RECRUITMENT
Articles: Military Recruiting: Personnel Crunch
Money is extra incentive for enlisting
Israel Saenz, caller.com
December 10, 2007
Marissa Figueroa isn't in it for the money.
Tradition and patriotism top the 16-year-old King High School junior's reasons for enlisting in the Army.
"I just want to do it for my country," she said. "And my dad was in the Army."
Figueroa -- who also one day would like to be a cook -- says an extra
incentive is the Montgomery GI Bill, which can pay servicemen and women
more than $39,000 for college tuition. For other potential recruits who
are on the fence, recruiters with one military branch now have a new
tool: more money.
Since October, recruiters have been letting potential recruits know
about the Future Soldier Training Program. The program pays enlistees
still in high school $1,000 per month while they are in school, and a
$1,000 bonus once they graduate.
Local Army recruiter Sgt. Gabriel Taylor said the money is meant as an
incentive for young people already thinking about an Army career.
"People think, 'Oh, look at all these bonuses,' " he said. "It's an
incentive, but people join for more than just the money. We tend to run
into a lot of patriotic people who want to do their part."
Army Recruiting Company Commander Maj. Judah Lyons estimated about 300
local high school seniors enlisted in the Army last year, with 107,000
nationwide. While the Army exceeded its recruiting goal of 80,000
recruits by 400 in the last fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, several
monthly goals for the Army last year were not met.
Lyons said that with a generally patriotic regional atmosphere,
recruiting problems have not been an issue locally. Military recruiters
have arrangements with local campuses to set up booths during lunchtime
on certain days of the week. Interested students also can set up
one-on-one talks with recruiters on campuses.
"It's remained pretty steady here in South Texas," Lyons said. "There's a lot of folks here who want to serve their military."
The Future Soldier Training Program requires that once a senior
enlists, he or she perform physical or technical training exercises at
least once a month to prepare them for boot camp, Lyons said.
"It gets them physically ready for basic training and studying general
orders," he said. "It also takes away that fear of the unknown because
they'll know about what they'll learn in basic training."
The Army already offered sign-on bonuses that average $20,000 per
enlistee, Lyons said. Those bonuses are still offered, along with
bonuses accrued through the new program. Future Soldier enlistees will
not see any of their monthly bonuses that have accrued until they
complete basic training after high school.
"They have to do their part," Lyons said.
But money as an incentive may not be the largest issue for Army
recruiters. A report by U.S. Army Accessions Command Researcher Donna
Dorminey in October 2005 stated about 73 percent of the 17- to
24-year-old Americans surveyed were not eligible for Army service
because they either did not meet physical or educational standards.
Other concerns cited in Dorminey's report were: college being a
preferred option for young men and women, and young people being
worried about being wounded or killed if deployed. Local Navy recruiter
David Jordan said current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may influence
potential military recruits' choices when deciding which branch to join.
He said while the Navy does deploy ground forces, the pervading idea
among recruits is that Army and Marine Corps personnel see most of the
action in the current conflicts.
According to Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, the Army has sustained the
most Iraq fatalities out of any military branch since Operation Iraqi
Freedom began in 2003, at 2,210, as of late November. The next largest
number of deaths has been sustained by the Marine Corps, at 843.
"(But) there is a lot of water out there," Jordan said. While the Navy
also offers enlistment bonuses, it does not offer a program similar to
the Future Soldier Training Program.
As of late November the Navy has sustained 72 deaths in Iraq.
The Future Soldier Training Program is so new, the Army has not yet
printed promotional materials for it, and several local high school
counselors said they hadn't heard about it.
But King High School Career Counselor Rosemary Shepperd -- who works
with students interested in the military -- said she feels like most of
them are enticed more by tradition than money.
"(The money's) a little icing on the cake, but is that their reason for
enlisting? No," she said. "Many of them come from military families,
being here in Corpus Christi where we have a military base. So it's a
pretty familiar circumstance for them."
Recruiters said they cannot say how successful they think the new program will be.
"We're going to use it and see how it goes," Army Recruiter Staff Sgt. Carmen Halcomb said.
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