Recruiting: Crisis and Cures
2000; The MIT Press; Volume: 80; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
0026-4148
AutoresKeith B. Hauk, Greg H. Parlier,
Tópico(s)Defense, Military, and Policy Studies
ResumoTODAY'S ARMY FACES a manpower challenge as significant as any in history of all-volunteer force (AVF, and certainly most acute since its accession failure of fiscal year (FY) 1979.1 The US Army Recruiting Command (USAREC) finished fiscal year 1999 almost 6,300 accessions short of Regular Army (RA accession mission and over 10,504 accessions short of US Army Reserve (USAR accession mission. Exacerbating this situation are three unique factors with which Army must contend. First, fiscal year 1999 truly marked end of drawdown and with it end of lower and easier-to-achieve accession requirements. During drawdown, many of Army's chronic recruiting problems were masked by end-of FY accession mission reductions designed to achieve specific manpower reductions. The service began each FY with a particular recruiting mission to support that year's authorized end strength-and then failed. The difference between mission requirements and actual achievements was forgiven, thus allowing Army to pay part of its drawdown bill with recruiting shortfalls. This phenomenon started in FY 1993 and continued through end of FY 1998 when Army could no longer underwrite accession mission failure. Hence, years of forgiveness for less-than-adequate recruiting performance, with year-end recruiting write-offs, are over. All services including Army-must now replace their manpower losses one for one. Second, market dynamics facing recruiters today are most challenging in history of AVF. The nation's economy is extremely strong with record haw unemployment and a night labor market. Tti November 1998 US Department of Labor reported nation's jobless rate had fallen to 4.1 percent, a 29 year low. Furthermore, as of end of January 2000, nation entered its 107th consecutive month of economic growth-the longest period of sustained growth since 1960s. This is not first time that AVF has had to contend with low unemployment and a strong economy; however, it is first time that AVF has had to deal with sustained low unemployment Even if unemployment were to increase slightly, economy's current deflationary conditions would likely keep public confidence in economy high and initially only produce citizens who are unqualified for military service. Simply stated, barring an unforeseen shock to a critical economic input such as oil, there is no quick end in sight to this era of economic prosperity. Third, high-quality youth today have expanding opportunities in both industry and academia. A recruiting market, with very low propensity for military `service compounds these tough labor: market factors; most applicants seek Army service for personal benefit-often monetary-and not for service- based reasons. College continuation rates-the number of graduating high school seniors going directly on to college-are at an all-time high and expected to continue growing over next few years: Financial assistance for post-secondary education is widely available, and growth of public and private college funding has significantly diluted effectiveness of military's Montgomery Bill and other college fund programs. All but four states in union (Arkansas, Idaho, Nebraska and South Dakota) offer some form of college financial assistance program, to say nothing of widespread, nonmilitary federal assistance programs such as Pell Grants and federal student loans. In fact, with such ease of funding, United States has come about as close as it can get to make college free, or as military sociologist Charles Moskos calls it, the Bill without G.I. These factors represent fundamental changes to environment from which Army must recruit its soldiers, and they are changes with which service is not particularly well equipped to contend. The Army must transform its recruiting practices lest these burgeoning, near-term accession shortfalls become chronic, long-term problems. …
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