Sgt. 1st Class Alex Joy, Syracuse Battalion
MAVNI; An Immediate Solution to a
National Problem
U.S. Army Recruiting Command’s request for a 2-year extension of Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) Program has been approved. The cap for applicants is now 3,000 for fiscal year 2015, and may increase to 5,000 for fiscal year 2016.
That’s good news Syracuse Battalion recruiter Sgt. 1st Class Alex Joy, who makes a case for enlisting foreign nationals.
By Sgt. 1st Class Alex Joy, USAREC, Syracuse Center
April 1, 2015
Being a detailed recruiter since July 2013, I’ve found that recruiting and retaining the world’s greatest fighting force is one of the most complex tasks I’ve undertaken during my Army career.
I’ve likened it to solving a Rubik’s Cube every time I enlist a prospect. The colored squares of the cube are medical issues, education credentials, test scores, criminal history, and the ever confusing Army regulatory guidance.
Solving each individual(cube) takes anywhere between 30 and 60 days on average, which could frustrate even the most patient professional.
The average military-aged American prospect with a propensity to enlist is the ultimate thorn in my side because he or she doesn’t meet one or more of the qualifications for enlisting.
The most common disqualifiers, I’ve found, are a lack of education credentials and a passing ASVAB score.
In 2013, the high school graduation rate in Syracuse was 50 percent.
Being in the midst of a downsizing force, the Army must seek to retain and enlist higher caliber Soldiers to meet the same demands of a much larger fighting force.
Due to a large percentage of Americans not meeting the qualifications, the best possible Soldiers may not be native born citizens. An immediate solution may lie with the MAVNI program, which targets legal non-citizens who speak a foreign language or process a medical specialty the Army deems vital.
Initial findings from the 2009 pilot of this program showed 66% of MAVNI recruits processed a bachelor’s degree or higher and their ASVAB scores were 17 points higher than U.S. counterparts. Additionally, their attrition rate during training was well below the average for U.S. trainees.
My first experience with MAVNI was in October of 2013. A young Chinese Syracuse University student came into the center and asked about the program. I’d never heard of it, so when I found out he wasn’t a citizen and didn’t process a green card, I turned him away.
He returned a week later with the USAREC message about MAVNI and enlisted eight months later as a 68W.
I began prospecting MAVNI applicants and in fiscal year 2014 enlisted 13.
My center enlisted 15 in January in the regular Army and Reserve, more than any recruiting company in the Syracuse Battalion.
All MAVNI applicants undergo a local background investigation. Those applying for positions requiring a security clearance undergo a national background investigation.
MAVNI applicants must score above a 50 on the ASVAB compared to a score of at least 31 for all other applicants.
Why would any organization in the world not hire an individual who exceeds a separate higher standard?
Who likely holds a bachelor’s degree or higher?
Not only speaks English, but potentially multiple foreign languages?
Didn’t have to pay them any more than any other new hire?
MAVNI has filled its recruiting allocation every year it’s been available. Thousands more of degree holding, high-test scoring, foreign-language speaking applicants who want to serve were not allowed to due to mission caps.
There is a population of non-citizens who are ready and willing to serve a country in which they can’t even vote, while Americans who hold the same qualification as the average MAVNI applicant aren’t as eager to enlist.
The fact is there is no magic pause button. Conflicts won’t stop while the United States addresses the issues with its education system.
The measure of quality for a Soldier in the United States Army cannot and should not lower to meet the status quo of the American population. The MAVNI program is a logical solution, if only temporarily, to fill a quality gap in the Army and Army Reserve.
U.S. Army Recruiting Command’s request for a 2-year extension of Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) Program has been approved. The cap for applicants is now 3,000 for fiscal year 2015, and may increase to 5,000 for fiscal year 2016.
That’s good news Syracuse Battalion recruiter Sgt. 1st Class Alex Joy, who makes a case for enlisting foreign nationals.
By Sgt. 1st Class Alex Joy, USAREC, Syracuse Center
April 1, 2015
Being a detailed recruiter since July 2013, I’ve found that recruiting and retaining the world’s greatest fighting force is one of the most complex tasks I’ve undertaken during my Army career.
I’ve likened it to solving a Rubik’s Cube every time I enlist a prospect. The colored squares of the cube are medical issues, education credentials, test scores, criminal history, and the ever confusing Army regulatory guidance.
Solving each individual(cube) takes anywhere between 30 and 60 days on average, which could frustrate even the most patient professional.
The average military-aged American prospect with a propensity to enlist is the ultimate thorn in my side because he or she doesn’t meet one or more of the qualifications for enlisting.
The most common disqualifiers, I’ve found, are a lack of education credentials and a passing ASVAB score.
In 2013, the high school graduation rate in Syracuse was 50 percent.
Being in the midst of a downsizing force, the Army must seek to retain and enlist higher caliber Soldiers to meet the same demands of a much larger fighting force.
Due to a large percentage of Americans not meeting the qualifications, the best possible Soldiers may not be native born citizens. An immediate solution may lie with the MAVNI program, which targets legal non-citizens who speak a foreign language or process a medical specialty the Army deems vital.
Initial findings from the 2009 pilot of this program showed 66% of MAVNI recruits processed a bachelor’s degree or higher and their ASVAB scores were 17 points higher than U.S. counterparts. Additionally, their attrition rate during training was well below the average for U.S. trainees.
My first experience with MAVNI was in October of 2013. A young Chinese Syracuse University student came into the center and asked about the program. I’d never heard of it, so when I found out he wasn’t a citizen and didn’t process a green card, I turned him away.
He returned a week later with the USAREC message about MAVNI and enlisted eight months later as a 68W.
I began prospecting MAVNI applicants and in fiscal year 2014 enlisted 13.
My center enlisted 15 in January in the regular Army and Reserve, more than any recruiting company in the Syracuse Battalion.
All MAVNI applicants undergo a local background investigation. Those applying for positions requiring a security clearance undergo a national background investigation.
MAVNI applicants must score above a 50 on the ASVAB compared to a score of at least 31 for all other applicants.
Why would any organization in the world not hire an individual who exceeds a separate higher standard?
Who likely holds a bachelor’s degree or higher?
Not only speaks English, but potentially multiple foreign languages?
Didn’t have to pay them any more than any other new hire?
MAVNI has filled its recruiting allocation every year it’s been available. Thousands more of degree holding, high-test scoring, foreign-language speaking applicants who want to serve were not allowed to due to mission caps.
There is a population of non-citizens who are ready and willing to serve a country in which they can’t even vote, while Americans who hold the same qualification as the average MAVNI applicant aren’t as eager to enlist.
The fact is there is no magic pause button. Conflicts won’t stop while the United States addresses the issues with its education system.
The measure of quality for a Soldier in the United States Army cannot and should not lower to meet the status quo of the American population. The MAVNI program is a logical solution, if only temporarily, to fill a quality gap in the Army and Army Reserve.
