MEETING THE RECRUITMENT CHALLENGE

First Class Sergeant Tim James of Treynor is a full time duty recruiter for the National Guard and Army. Sgt. James said there are about 40 million men and women of age 17 to 40 in the U.S. This is the age bracket for recruitment; however, only half can physically qualify, and another 8 million are not eligible because of legal issues. Sgt. James noted all recruits have to pass qualifying exams and speak English. A high school diploma is not required. Sgt. James stated that recruitment is difficult at present because parents don’t want their children to be sent into combat. Most recruiting is focused at the young adult age including older high school students, Sgt. James noted, but some high schools will not allow recruitment on the premises.

Sgt. James explained that the military services are offering historically high incentives for enlistments and re-enlistments. These include medical care, and insurance for spouses and children, additional education for recruit and spouse, and opportunities for recruits to advance to officer training. Sgt. James stated that there are substantial re-enlistment bonuses offered to keep highly trained personnel in the military service and for some specialties the bonus can be as high as $20,000