U.S. ARMY VIRTUAL DISCUSSION ON RECRUITING: Q&A WITH SAY COMMITTEE MEMBERS
In May, members of the Strengthening America’s Youth (SAY) Committee participated in a virtual discussion to learn about the U.S. Army’s mission to attract and retain high-quality Soldiers, incentives to grow the force and current challenges that recruiters face. During the discussion, participants actively inquired how the Army is reaching young people, filling gaps when it comes to sector shortages, building a more diverse leadership team and other pressing issues. Below is a summary of the Q&A:
Mr. Ken Wong, CIG ASIA, LTD.
Question 1: How do we start utilizing the vocabulary to convey that the Army is not entirely separate from college and that post-secondary education credits are available? Can we start referencing the Army as a post-secondary education option?
Army Response 1: Some schools are evaluated based on the number of students they send to post-secondary education options, and we believe the Army should be included in that number. We need to make military service equal to going to college when ranking high schools. But you have to have those conversations state-by-state, system-by-system, because it’s not a centralized system.
Comment 2: With college grads, even though the unemployment numbers are decreasing, we still seem to have young graduates without a career path. We need them to think of the Army as part of an overall career strategy, one where they can earn education credits while still being paid and receiving benefits. We need to change how people think about this through the messages and words we use. We also need to change not only how students think about this, but also high school counselors.
Army Response 2: Absolutely. We have to make sure we are talking to the right folks about this. We are working on penetrating community colleges and universities. We have to target and speak to the right market on this – those who are looking for job training and experience. Also, schools are graded based on student loan repayment, and the military provides a great way to pay back student loans – and we should be talking about this.
Mr. Ed Walters, U.S. Army Highly Qualified Expert (HQE)
Comment: We need to gather better case studies. Veterans are extremely effective entrepreneurs; they can often get funding to start businesses, and their businesses succeed. Some get into amazing graduate schools because of the Army. Those who served in the military do very well in business, and we should be talking about this on YouTube and other digital channels.
We don’t do enough to promote the continuing education system to colleges and high schools to change the Army “tough or dirty” image. We need to highlight those success stories of veterans succeeding in the civilian corporate world and the transition from service to the civilian workforce.
In today’s Army, both officers and enlisted Soldiers can have the same level of advanced degrees and can pursue continued education at the same rate.
Mr. Enrique Gonzalez, Great Minds in STEM
Question 1: Can we receive a list of the Civilian Aides to the Secretary of the Army (CASA)?
Army Response 1: We have shared the most current CASA list with participants via email and will provide more background information about the Army’s CASA program upon request.
Question 2: I spoke to a couple of U.S. Army recruiters and they both pointed out Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) processing delays. According to them, they are very picky, which is beyond the stated issues.
Army Response 2: MEPS is responsible for processing applicants to determine qualifications in relation to physical, aptitude and moral standards set by each branch of military service. With this understanding in mind, time delays do occur when processing numerous applicants for all branches of service.
Question 3: Is there an opportunity for the Army to reach out and mentor those who have started the application process (ROTC)?
Army Response 3: We have in the past, but it hasn’t been as successful, despite it happening all of the time. At the national level, we have reached out to diverse students and encouraged them to connect with local ROTC units for assistance, but the connections do not seem to go through when it’s left on applicants’ plates. If an applicant is nominated by a congressional representative, it seems to have more weight than a recruiting officer from a university reaching out to them.
Ms. Jana Johns, Baylor University, Louise Herrington School of Nursing
Question: Is there a high need for Army nurses?
Army Response: Yes, there is a need. Statistically, the need has increased to 170 new Army nurses for fiscal year 2018, and we anticipate it will increase to 190 in 2019.
We know the challenge for the nursing community is the limited availability of clinical experience, but the Army’s need for nurses is increasing. Army nurses can pick their specialty, unlike civilian nurses, who are placed in specialties.
Army nurses are offered summer training programs for immersive experiences in major Army hospitals. During these training programs, nurses can do invasive procedures to build confidence and expand their nursing education.
Ms. Pam Norman, Kiwanis International
Question: With the focus on digital media, will the Army share prepared posts and assets with regard to new March2Success enhancements?
Army Response: We have been preparing March2Success program success numbers and have shared March2Success draft social posts and assets with partners. If you’d like to receive more information, please contact us.
Ms. Robin Utz, U.S. Department of Education
Question: Do you have data to support your comments regarding the lack of diversity within leadership?
Army Response: Enlisted Soldiers in the Army are 23 percent African-American and 17 percent Hispanic. For the officer corps this year, though, we only produced 12 percent African-American and 9 percent Hispanic.
It is quite a gap for us to overcome, and we are really focused on pushing the number of diverse officers up. We see incremental growth every year, but growth for our diverse officers is not keeping pace with the growth of Hispanics graduating from college.
