Service Leaders Report on Recruiting Success

By Sgt. Sara Moore, USA
American Forces Press Service

Feb. 1, 2008 - Despite a challenging recruiting environment, all four branches of the military have met with significant recruiting success in the past year and are on target to continue that success, the services' recruiting chiefs told a Congressional committee yesterday. In fiscal 2007, the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps all exceeded their active-duty enlisted recruiting goals, and only the Air Force fell slightly short of its goal on the reserve-component side, the officers in charge of recruitment for the four services said at a hearing of the personnel subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The Army's success came after two years of reinforcing the recruiting command with additional manpower, resources and incentives to bring up numbers that lagged in 2005, Army Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick, commander of U.S. Army Recruiting Command, said in prepared remarks to the committee. He noted that this success came at a time of persistent combat.

In fiscal 2007, the active-duty Army met Defense Department goals for the percentage of recruits scoring high on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test, but fell short of the goal of 90 percent of recruits holding a high school diploma, Bostick said. Only 79 percent of active-duty recruits for 2007 had high school diplomas.

Acknowledging this shortage and an increase in the number of waivers granted for recruits with convictions, Bostick said commanders in the field are pleased with the quality of the soldiers serving in their units. He emphasized that all applications for waivers are reviewed thoroughly, and those for individuals with felony convictions are reviewed by 10 different people and must be approved at the general officer level.

"The Army is reviewing the long-term impact of the less number of high school diploma graduates (and) the increased waivers on the effectiveness of an Army at war," Bostick said in his testimony. "But in talking to soldiers and drill sergeants and our Army leaders, there's a common theme that the quality and the skills of our initial entry training graduates remains high."

Fiscal 2007 marked the ninth consecutive year the Navy achieved its overall active-component mission, while exceeding Defense Department recruit quality standards, Navy Rear Adm. Joseph F. Kilkenny, commander of Navy Recruiting Command, said at the hearing. The Navy's top recruiting priority in 2007 was naval special warfare and special operations, programs that require exceptionally bright and physically fit recruits, he said.

To boost recruitment for these elite communities, the Navy hired former naval special warfare and special operations personnel to assist in selecting, testing and mentoring new recruits, Kilkenny said. This effort, coupled with $40,000 enlistment bonuses, improved recruiting in these communities and increased physical screening test pass rates for recruits at boot camp from 28 percent to 78 percent.

The Navy met with mixed success in officer recruiting in 2007, Kilkenny said. Nineteen of the 23 officer communities met their goals, but the chaplain corps, chaplain student program, naval reactor engineers and programs for students in the medical profession all missed goal. As a result, the Navy has increased its efforts in officer recruiting and is making medical officer recruiting its number one goal for fiscal 2008, he said.

The Air Force's success in 2007 marked its eighth consecutive year and 77th consecutive month of meeting enlisted recruiting goals, Air Force Brig. Gen. Suzanne M. Vautrinot, commander of Air Force Recruiting Service, said in prepared remarks to the committee. The quality of Air Force recruits remains above DoD standards, with 79 percent scoring above the 50th percentile on the ASVAB test and 91 percent entering without needing a waiver for moral, drug or criminal issues, she said in her testimony.

Vautrinot noted that the Air Force's critical warfighting career fields, such as pararescue and linguist, have consistently been filled, thanks largely to enlistment bonuses provided by Congress. Officer recruitment programs, with the exception of the medical corps, have met with continued success, as well, she said.

Last year, the Air Force recruited just fewer than half of its target for fully qualified health care personnel. To address this shortfall, the Air Force is increasing its health professions scholarships and realigning recruiters to major medical education centers, Vautrinot said.

The Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard both face significant recruiting challenges because of the impact of the Base Realignment and Closure initiatives, which will bring about personnel reductions and mission changes, Vautrinot said. However, in both the reserve and active-duty components, the Air Force relies on the examples of its current members and high-quality recruiters to send a positive message and boost recruitment, she said.

"The Air Force attracts recruits with a simple but powerful message: We're a well-trained, highly technical force, a global team defending the nation in the war on terrorism while simultaneously executing humanitarian missions around the globe," she said.

The Marine Corps' recruiting success in 2007 cut across the active and reserve components, including officers, Marine Brig. Gen. Richard T. Tryon, commander of Marine Corps Recruiting Command, said in his prepared remarks. The recruiting mission was increased as part of an effort to grow the overall force, he said, and the recruiting command stayed on track to build an active component with an end strength of 202,000.

In his testimony, Tryon attributed the recruiting success to a quality recruiting force that is screened, well-trained, and properly resourced. He noted that every Marine assigned to recruiting duty is evaluated thoroughly before attending a seven-week training course, and they continue to receive training while on recruiter duty.

Marine recruiters find they must invest considerable time with parents, teachers, guidance counselors, and other "influencers" to attract men and women qualified to serve, Tryon said. Recruiters mostly rely on the Marine Corps values and its reputation as an elite force for enticing people to serve, Tryon said.

All four leaders agreed that they are facing an extremely challenging recruiting environment today. The propensity among young people to serve is the lowest it's ever been, and key influencers, like parents and teachers, are not always supportive of military service. Also, the military is competing with the private sector for talented young people, many of whom see a college degree and high-paying job as the path to success.

Despite these challenges, all the leaders expressed optimism about meeting recruiting goals for fiscal 2008. All the services are adding new initiatives this year to better take advantage of technology and education programs to boost recruiting efforts, the leaders said.

America Supports You: Foundation Seeks a Few Good Students

American Forces Press Service

Dec. 31, 2007 - The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation is looking for eligible students to apply for its 2008 scholarships. "These scholarships provide life-changing opportunities for students that need financial assistance towards a college degree, and they increase their chances for success in their personal and professional lives," said Chris Randolph, the foundation's president. "That's critical for our Marine families."

Eligible students must be children of a current U.S. Marine or of a living or dead retired Marine. They also must be high school graduates or registered as undergraduate students at an accredited educational institution and have a family income of $77,000 or less. This limit increases if siblings apply.

Scholarships are not offered for graduate study.

Children whose parents are participating or have participated in operations Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom may qualify for additional scholarship funding.

The foundation provides assistance to children of Marines or Navy corpsmen serving with Marines, with special consideration given to children with a parent who was killed or wounded in action.

The foundation is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.

Application deadlines are March 3 for graduating high school seniors and first-time college freshman and April 15 for all other students.

Since its founding in 1962, the organization has distributed more than 21,000 needs-based college scholarships and bonds totaling more than $34 million. In 2007 alone, more than 1,000 Marine children received awards, foundation officials said.

More information about the foundation and its scholarships can be found on the organization's Web site, www.mcsf.org, or by phone at 800-292-7777.

(From a Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation news release.)

Idaho School Launches 'Operation Education'

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

Aug. 21, 2007 - Between physical and fiscal challenges, severely injured servicemembers and spouses who don't hold a college degree may find earning one a bit daunting. The University of Idaho is working to change that. With a slogan of "You've served us; now let us serve you – with a college degree," the school launched Operation Education in June 2006.

"Operation Education is a scholarship program that was designed to provide financial and social support for disabled veterans who have been wounded since ... 9/11," Karen White, the scholarship's chairman, said. "The program is individually tailored to each applicant and what that particular person or that family unit's needs are."

That can be as little as help with child care all the way to tuition, fees, and books to housing and other support necessary for injured servicemembers to attend classes.

"Because of their injuries, they are generally eligible for vocational rehabilitation," White, who holds a doctorate in physical therapy, said. "So besides what they may have gotten through their military service, ... we fill in the gaps."

Servicemembers applying for University of Idaho Operation Education scholarships must have been severely injured on active duty since Sept. 11, 2001, and must be accepted by the university. Idaho students are given priority. The scholarship also is open to spouses, White said.

"So, if the instance happens where the veteran is not able to or not interested in coming to school, then his or her spouse could come and partake in getting a higher education," she said. "Or, if both wanted to come to school, we would be happy to fund the ... two of them."

Operation Education began when one of the university's development officers attended a holiday gathering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, White said. She was so moved by the patients' spirit and fortitude that she started working on a way for a university all the way across the country to say, "thank you."

"The natural answer was higher education," White said. "Being a university, that is how we could help and what we could offer."

So far, the university has offered that opportunity to three veterans. The first scholar started in January and has since graduated, found a job and bought a house in the area, White said, adding that he only needed assistance for a semester.

"We still have two, and we want it to be a small program," she said. "I think max, we could handle three, maybe four new students per year."

More than that and the individualization of the program would suffer, she said.

White said she is hoping to encourage other colleges and universities to start similar programs.

"Use the name. Use the idea," she said. "I am more than willing to share with any college ... what we've learned, our forms, our focus or ideas."

One thing she's learned, White said, is that lots of people believe in the program and have shown it through financial support. The scholarship has been completely funded through private money.

"We've had a wonderful outpouring of support," White said. "Primarily (it's been) from University of Idaho alums, but also some folks who have just heard about the scholarship and were impressed with what we were doing and have chosen to send money our way."

Frequently those donors have had a military connection, she added. In fact, Army officers Meagan Bacharach and Chris Rizzo, who are planning their January 2008 wedding, have found a unique way to support the program.

Bacharach, whose parents are University of Idaho alums, and Rizzo have added Operation Education and another Special Operation Warrior Foundation to their bridal registry.

"Between the two of us, we really have enough things," Bacharach said in an Operation Education news release.

This gesture thrilled White, who thinks Operation Education is an appropriate gesture for the university to make to the nation's servicemembers.

"It just seemed like such a natural way to thank and acknowledge those men and women who have sacrificed so much for our freedom and our country," she said.

Editor's Note: To find out about more individuals, groups and organizations that are helping support the troops, visit www.AmericaSupportsYou.mil. America Supports You is a Defense Department program that directly connects military members to the support of the America people and offers a tool to the general public in their quest to find meaningful ways to support the military community.