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to the "POINTER VIEW"May 10, 2002
Return
to the "POINTER VIEW"
May
10, 2002
Hometown recruiting boosts enlistment numbers
WASHINGTON (Army News Service) -- A recruiting initiative that sends Advanced Individual Training graduates back home to tell the Army’s story continues to boost enlistment numbers.
"The Hometown Recruiter Assistance Program remains effective because new recruits can give their peers an up-to-date perspective on what Army life is like," said Sgt. 1st Class Jason Schenkel, a recruiting station commander in Holland, Mich.
More than 30,000 soldiers participated in the program in fiscal year 2001, and the Army credits 1,687 enlistments to HRAP, said Army Recruiting officials. This fiscal year, more than 14,000 soldiers have participated in HRAP, and 571 enlistments have been made so far, officials said.
Schenkel credits two enlistment contracts this fiscal year to HRAP at his station, but he said there’s no way to quantify the rapport the 22-year-old program helps build among the recruiters and the community.
"When the community -- schools, churches, neighbors -- see that the young soldier is happy with the decision to become a soldier, the community starts to trust us more," Schenkel said. "They start to associate the Army with the soldier’s success."
Selected soldiers can return home for up to 14 days, at no cost to the government, to assist recruiters. The recruits bring friends and relatives to the station to learn about Army opportunities, or they escort recruiters to their former school for presentations.
Learning a skill that can be used in the civilian workforce is one of the most important benefits the Army offers, said Pvt. 2 Benjamin Martinez, an HRAP participant. Which is why Martinez said he pitches that the hardest when discussing Army benefits.
"When I talk to my friends, I tell them about the skills the Army gives you, the college benefits and the discipline and focus the Army helps you gain," Martinez said.
The 20-year-old recruit graduated from AIT at Fort Eustis, Va., as an OH-58 Kiowa Warrior repairer. He’s participating in HRAP to help the recruiters that assisted him in paving the path for his future, he said.
Martinez enlisted in the Army in the GED Plus program, an initiative that requires non-high-school graduates to complete an attendance-based General Educational Development program, while serving in the Army’s Delayed Entry Program.
Applicants who want to participate in the GED Plus program must score in the top half of the nation on the Armed Forces Qualification Tests, which measures the applicants’ academic skills. They must also score in the top 75 percent on the Assessment of Individual Motivation test, which measures dependability, adjustment, dominance, achievement orientation and agreeableness.
AIM is used as an attrition tool, officials said. The test shows promise for improving the Army’s capability to select applicants who are more likely to complete their obligated term of enlistment, officials said.
"The Army has a lot of programs to help young people get started in life," Schenkel said. "There are some people who would give up on a person without a degree or a GED, but the Army is here to give them an opportunity.
"HRAP gives us a chance to let a living example talk for us because my early experiences in the Army happened 10 years ago," Schenkel said.
After being back home a week, Martinez has already given recruiters seven possible leads. Unlike some of his friends who are unsure about the Army right now, Martinez said he knew he wanted to join the Army, and he knew what he wanted to do.
"I just walked into the station, and when I saw that I could work in aviation, I just did what I had to do to become eligible and join," Martinez said. "I’m happy with my decision. I’ve learned a lot of discipline and focus, and that’s what I tell my friends when I see them just hanging out on the streets."
Martinez’s first duty station will be at Fort Carson, Colo., and he said he’s looking forward to learning how to be a leader.
Just three years ago the Army fell about 6,300 soldiers short of its goal of 74,500, and the Army Reserve was 10,300 below its goal of 52,084, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric K. Shinseki said to members of the House Committee on Armed Services. Reporting to the House on the Army’s readiness, Shinseki said new recruiting initiatives sparked a year-end upturn in the number of enlistments.
In fiscal year 2001 the Army met its goal of 75,800 recruits almost a month early. This fiscal year the active Army’s mission is 79,500 of which 43,265 has been achieved, and the Army Reserve’s mission is 28,825, and 19,325 has been achieved, said USAREC officials.
"The Army is aggressively restructuring its entire recruiting operation," Shinseki said. "We will continue to emphasize creative solutions to the challenge of attracting sufficient numbers of Americans to military service."