FEC Conversion Increases Career Opportunities, Enlistments
By Fonda Bock, USAREC, Public Affairs Office
Dec. 4, 2015
The conversion or closure of U.S. Army Recruiting Command’s 452 Forward Engagement Centers is nearly complete with only 88 still open. Most have been converted into stand-alone centers with a center leader - a few have been closed.
The process began in May after data indicated centers with FECs generally didn’t perform as well as stand-alone centers where all recruiters worked out of one facility, said Maj. Greg Whelan, G2 market analyst.
“I think probably [having FECs] was a leadership challenge. You have people working for you in multiple locations,” said Whelan.
Some centers had has many as three FECs. About half were located at least 20 miles from their center, and 45 were located more than 50 miles away.
The loss of production varied across the country, and while it wasn’t huge, it was statistically significant enough to warrant a change, according to Whelan.
He said it’s too early to measure how much of a difference the conversion is making on enlistment numbers, but the creation of more centers is opening up more opportunities for recruiters, said Charles Price, USAREC chief of Military Personnel Management Division.
“There’ll be additional career progression opportunities for our recruiters,” he said. “Increasing the number of centers means more opportunities for center leadership for our 79Rs.”
Having less Soldiers all in one location under the center leader’s supervision also gives him or her more time to mentor and train each individual Soldier, said Price.
The conversion of the remaining FECs, which fall under 3rd and 6th Brigades, will be complete by Sept. 30, 2016. Whelan said affected battalions need to submit Positioning Analysis and Evaluations on their FECs to the headquarters by July 15, 2016.
By Fonda Bock, USAREC, Public Affairs Office
Dec. 4, 2015
The conversion or closure of U.S. Army Recruiting Command’s 452 Forward Engagement Centers is nearly complete with only 88 still open. Most have been converted into stand-alone centers with a center leader - a few have been closed.
The process began in May after data indicated centers with FECs generally didn’t perform as well as stand-alone centers where all recruiters worked out of one facility, said Maj. Greg Whelan, G2 market analyst.
“I think probably [having FECs] was a leadership challenge. You have people working for you in multiple locations,” said Whelan.
Some centers had has many as three FECs. About half were located at least 20 miles from their center, and 45 were located more than 50 miles away.
The loss of production varied across the country, and while it wasn’t huge, it was statistically significant enough to warrant a change, according to Whelan.
He said it’s too early to measure how much of a difference the conversion is making on enlistment numbers, but the creation of more centers is opening up more opportunities for recruiters, said Charles Price, USAREC chief of Military Personnel Management Division.
“There’ll be additional career progression opportunities for our recruiters,” he said. “Increasing the number of centers means more opportunities for center leadership for our 79Rs.”
Having less Soldiers all in one location under the center leader’s supervision also gives him or her more time to mentor and train each individual Soldier, said Price.
The conversion of the remaining FECs, which fall under 3rd and 6th Brigades, will be complete by Sept. 30, 2016. Whelan said affected battalions need to submit Positioning Analysis and Evaluations on their FECs to the headquarters by July 15, 2016.