Fewer early sign-ups as Army struggles to recruit soldiers By Dave Moniz, USA TODAY
Wed Jul 27, 6:42 AM ET
The Army, which expects to miss its 2005 recruiting goal by about 12,000, already is falling behind for next year.
The pool of recruits who sign up as much as a year before they report for training is dwindling. So far, 3,100 have signed up for 2006, according to Army Recruiting Command at Fort Knox, Ky. The Army says it hopes to have 7,200 recruits in the pool by Oct. 1, when the 2006 recruiting year begins. By comparison:
• The Army started the 2005 recruiting year with about 14,700 recruits in the delayed entry pool. It is making up some of the shortfall in recruiting by re-enlisting soldiers at a higher-than-expected rate. But the Army also has tried to trim this year's shortfall by rushing many delayed entry enlistees into basic training.
• In 2004, the Army had more than 33,000 enlistees signed up ahead of time. It met its recruiting goals.
Allowing recruits to put off going to boot camp for up to a year gives enlistees flexibility and provides the Army with a buffer for future recruiting needs. Army statistics show the pool's size is a key indicator of its annual recruiting.
Maj. Gen. Michael Rochelle, who heads Army Recruiting Command, said recruiting in July is slightly ahead of its goal, but that won't wipe out the current shortfall. He said parents are still reluctant to encourage their children to enlist. The Army has taken the brunt of U.S. casualties in Iraq.
Rochelle acknowledged it can expect another struggle next year.
Stephen Cheney, a retired Marine brigadier general and recruiting coordinator, said the small size of the delayed entry pool would make it extremely difficult for the Army to meet its 2006 target.
Next year's recruits may also not be as qualified as this year's, because the Army will be looking for enlistees it can quickly ship to basic training. That means recruits whose options are limited, "are not in school and not in a job," said Cheney, chief operating officer of Business Executives for National Security in Washington, D.C.
The Army is offering unprecedented enticements - including enlistment bonuses as high as $20,000 and service stints as short as 15 months - but so far has been unable to persuade enough young men and women to join.
Secretary of the Army Francis Harvey recently proposed increasing the top enlistment bonus to $40,000 and is about to add 800 additional recruiters to the force. Even the new recruiters and higher bonuses "may not be enough for everyone," Rochelle said.
None of the recruiting trends bode well for the Army, said Loren Thompson, an analyst at the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va.
"If you think of the Army as a watershed, their reservoir is about to run dry," Thompson said. "They have nothing left in reserve." |
