http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08...er=rssuserland&emc=rss
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August 10, 2007
Army Tops Its July Recruiting Goal
By THOM SHANKER
WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 ? After falling short of its recruiting goals for two months in a row, the Army met its July quota for signing up new soldiers as it poured more manpower and other resources into the effort, the Army said today.
In a statement, the Army said that it was augmenting its number of recruiters in the field by pulling people from other jobs in the recruiting organization as well as by adding people from other parts of the Army, including recalling about 1,000 former recruiters to bolster its normal field staff of about 8,000.
Pentagon officials had been paying close attention to Army recruiting efforts, which have struggled to attract new troops as the United States remains deeply engaged in a prolonged and dangerous ground war in Iraq that has required repeated, lengthy deployments of substantial numbers of soldiers.
The Army signed up 9,972 new soldiers in July, surpassing the goal of 9,750. Each of the other three services also reached their monthly targets for active-duty and part-time personnel, except for the Air National Guard, which reached only 87 percent of the target.
Army officials acknowledged that its success in July, after two troubling months of failing to meet targets, is at least partly due to a new bonus of $20,000 offered to recruits who sign up by Sept. 30, which ends the fiscal year.
The Army is pressing to meets its end-of-year goals, with extra efforts including the incentives, a new advertising campaign and assigning a larger number of personnel to recruiting positions after beginning to add to its permanent recruiting staff in 2005.
Army officials on Friday expressed optimism that the service would meet its goal of 80,000 recruits this fiscal year.
?We are continuing to reach out to the American public with a number of innovative programs, including the $20,000 ?quick-ship? bonus,? said Paul Boyce, an Army spokesman. ?To put our current success in perspective, consider that we?re recruiting an all-volunteer force during a protracted war for the first time in history.?
Mr. Boyce said that summer is typically a peak recruiting period for the armed services, as young people in the military?s prime age group for recruits find themselves between high school and a decision about college or long-term career choices.
As of July 30, the Army had recruited 61,864 soldiers for the active-duty service, which is above its target as it enters the last two months of the fiscal year, officials said.
The Army met its recruiting quota last year, in the 2006 fiscal year, but failed to do so in the 2005 fiscal year, which was the first time in six years the service had not reached its targets.
The Army missed its June goal of 8,400 by about 1,000. And in May, the Army fell 400 enlistees short of its goal of 5,500.
Not only is the Army trying to overcome its casualties in Iraq as it seeks to attract recruits, but the service has also embarked on a five-year program to increase its active-duty strength to 547,000, from the previously authorized level of 514,000.
In July, the Marine Corps, which is second only to the Army in carrying the burden of the ground conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, signed up 4,793 new personnel, exceeding its goal of 4,613.
The Navy met its active-duty target of 4,173 new sailors, and the Air Force also reached 100 percent of its goal of 2,078 recruits.
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$20,000 is a lot of money to an 18 year old. I owe $150,000 in loans so 20k isn't going ot get me to do much, and I'm too old I suppose at this point. This is economic theory at work, but some will probably argue it's just more likely to push the lower economic earners into military service. Still, it's a choice, and better than a draft.
And what about the men and women currently serving who signed up before this package started...I'm guessing they won't be getting a retroactive pay raise.
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August 10, 2007
Army Tops Its July Recruiting Goal
By THOM SHANKER
WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 ? After falling short of its recruiting goals for two months in a row, the Army met its July quota for signing up new soldiers as it poured more manpower and other resources into the effort, the Army said today.
In a statement, the Army said that it was augmenting its number of recruiters in the field by pulling people from other jobs in the recruiting organization as well as by adding people from other parts of the Army, including recalling about 1,000 former recruiters to bolster its normal field staff of about 8,000.
Pentagon officials had been paying close attention to Army recruiting efforts, which have struggled to attract new troops as the United States remains deeply engaged in a prolonged and dangerous ground war in Iraq that has required repeated, lengthy deployments of substantial numbers of soldiers.
The Army signed up 9,972 new soldiers in July, surpassing the goal of 9,750. Each of the other three services also reached their monthly targets for active-duty and part-time personnel, except for the Air National Guard, which reached only 87 percent of the target.
Army officials acknowledged that its success in July, after two troubling months of failing to meet targets, is at least partly due to a new bonus of $20,000 offered to recruits who sign up by Sept. 30, which ends the fiscal year.
The Army is pressing to meets its end-of-year goals, with extra efforts including the incentives, a new advertising campaign and assigning a larger number of personnel to recruiting positions after beginning to add to its permanent recruiting staff in 2005.
Army officials on Friday expressed optimism that the service would meet its goal of 80,000 recruits this fiscal year.
?We are continuing to reach out to the American public with a number of innovative programs, including the $20,000 ?quick-ship? bonus,? said Paul Boyce, an Army spokesman. ?To put our current success in perspective, consider that we?re recruiting an all-volunteer force during a protracted war for the first time in history.?
Mr. Boyce said that summer is typically a peak recruiting period for the armed services, as young people in the military?s prime age group for recruits find themselves between high school and a decision about college or long-term career choices.
As of July 30, the Army had recruited 61,864 soldiers for the active-duty service, which is above its target as it enters the last two months of the fiscal year, officials said.
The Army met its recruiting quota last year, in the 2006 fiscal year, but failed to do so in the 2005 fiscal year, which was the first time in six years the service had not reached its targets.
The Army missed its June goal of 8,400 by about 1,000. And in May, the Army fell 400 enlistees short of its goal of 5,500.
Not only is the Army trying to overcome its casualties in Iraq as it seeks to attract recruits, but the service has also embarked on a five-year program to increase its active-duty strength to 547,000, from the previously authorized level of 514,000.
In July, the Marine Corps, which is second only to the Army in carrying the burden of the ground conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, signed up 4,793 new personnel, exceeding its goal of 4,613.
The Navy met its active-duty target of 4,173 new sailors, and the Air Force also reached 100 percent of its goal of 2,078 recruits.
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$20,000 is a lot of money to an 18 year old. I owe $150,000 in loans so 20k isn't going ot get me to do much, and I'm too old I suppose at this point. This is economic theory at work, but some will probably argue it's just more likely to push the lower economic earners into military service. Still, it's a choice, and better than a draft.
And what about the men and women currently serving who signed up before this package started...I'm guessing they won't be getting a retroactive pay raise.