COUNTERING MILITARY RECRUITMENT
Articles: Military Recruiting: Personnel Crunch
Need help with a down payment? Ask the Army
Associated Press
August 9, 2007
WASHINGTON - Need a down payment for your home? Seed money to start a
business? The Army wants to help if you're willing to join up.
Despite spending nearly $1 billion last year on recruiting bonuses
and ads, Army leaders say an even bolder approach is needed to fill
wartime ranks.
Under a new proposal, men and women who enlist could pick from a
"buffet" of incentives, including up to $45,000 tax-free that they
accrue during their career to help buy a home or build a business.
Other options would include money for college and to pay off student loans.
An Associated Press review of the increasingly aggressive recruiting
offerings found the Army is not only dangling more sign-up rewards
it's loosening rules on age and weight limits, education and drug and
criminal records.
It's all part of an Army effort to fill its ranks even as the
percentage of young people who say they plan to join the military has
hit a historic low 16 percent by the Pentagon's own surveying in
the fifth year of the Iraq war.
Recruitment target not met
In June, the Army failed to meet its recruitment target for the
second month in a row, although it apparently met its goal to recruit
9,750 troops in July and is on target for 80,000 for the year that
ends Sept. 30.
[See URL for chart.]
As part of a push to make its 2007 goals, the Army is boosting the
size of its 8,000-member recruiting force with 1,000 to 2,000
assistants including some former recruiters.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants to increase the size of the
active-duty Army by 65,000 to a total of 547,000 within five years.
In part, that's to ease the wartime strain on the Army, which is the
largest branch of the military.
"Recruiting next year and beyond will remain challenging and will ...
require additional innovative approaches," said Lt. Col. Michael
Rochelle, the Pentagon's deputy chief of staff for personnel. He
asked lawmakers last week on Capitol Hill for money to pay for the new program.
Rochelle described the latest offering as an updated version of the
Army's college fund, a popular program started in 1982 to help
soldiers pay for college.
The Army would like to start a pilot program targeting 500 people who
might not otherwise consider joining. In the pilot, the takers who
complete a four-year enlistment would be eligible for up to $30,000
in incentives including money for a home loan or business.
Eventually, the Army wants to offer up to $45,000.
Beyond the Iraq war, the military says other factors have affected
its ability to recruit. More high school graduates are going to
college, and the economy is strong, providing lots of civilian jobs.
At the same time, only three of 10 people between 17 and 24 fully
meet the military's standards.
Obesity affecting recruitment
Less obvious factors have also decreased the recruitment pool. They
include higher obesity rates, more people diagnosed with mental
health conditions such as attention-deficit disorder, more criminal
citations due to the increase of the drinking age from 18 to 21.
"The numbers of people who meet our enlistment standards is
astonishingly low," said Michael Dominguez, principal deputy
undersecretary of defense.
Among the changes that have helped attract more recruits:
Increasing to $20,000 the bonus for troops who join by Sept. 30 and
leave for boot camp within a month.
Raising the enlistment age to 42.
Allowing recruits to come in with non-offensive tattoos on their
hands and neck.
Offering a $2,000 bonus to Army soldiers who refer a new recruit.
Enlisting recruits who don't meet weight standards and must trim down
their first year.
Advertising that targets potential recruits' parents.
Increasing the number of recruits with general education diplomas
rather than regular high school diplomas.
Creating a more pleasant boot camp environment.
Sending "gung-ho" soldiers fresh from boot camp or war zones back to
their hometowns to visit old friends and schoolmates to promote the Army.
Increasing to more than 15 percent the number of Army and Army
Reserve troops given waivers for medical and moral reasons or for
positive drug and alcohol screen tests.
Tyka Pettey, 21, of Philadelphia, said she was fully aware of the
risks when she signed up in late July for a six-year stint in the
Army Reserve. Doing so will help her pay to go to college in a
medical field. With her $20,000 bonus, she plans to buy a car and pay off debt.
She said she had been thinking about joining for more than a year.
Once she made the decision, she said she was impressed with how much
the recruiters in Upper Darby, Pa., were able to help her.
"You really have to want to do something like that. You're really
taking a major step from your civilian life ... but I just decided to
go for it," said Pettey, who leaves in about a week for boot camp.
Millions spent on enlistment efforts
The Army spent $353 million last year on enlistment bonuses, $583
million on recruiting and advertising and $700 million on pay and
benefits for recruiters, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties
Union, said her organization is concerned that low-income young
people and minorities are targeted by recruiters and lured with
promises into making decisions they would not otherwise have made.
"I think as the incentives increase, the potential for
misrepresentation and abuse increases," Lieberman said.
Irene Fiala, a sociology professor at Edinboro University of
Pennsylvania who has researched recruiting trends, said the military
is attempting to change with society because the days are over when
it was an American virtue to join and it was expected that all young
men would do so.
"Uncle Sam pointing his finger at you saying, 'We want you,' isn't
cutting it for today's kids," Fiala said. "Today's kids are saying,
'Yeah, you want me and so does GE and so does MIT, so what else are
you going to offer me?"'
It's not just the attitudes of young people that have seemingly
shifted. In 2005, statistical surveys revealed that because of the
Iraq war, adults who work with students were less likely to suggest
joining the military.
"The willingness of coaches, teachers, counselors and parents to
commend military service to America's youth is lower than is good for
our nation and our military," said Dominguez, the Defense Department official.
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