Societal Issues Shrinking Number of Youth Eligible to Serve
Lynsie Dickerson, USAREC, Public Affairs Office
Nov. 14, 2014
With the number of young Americans eligible to serve in the Army shrinking to just three in 10 due to obesity, criminal records, and lack of education, the Army may struggle to supply its demand for high-quality recruits in the future, said Maj. Gen. Allen Batschelet, commanding general of U.S. Army Recruiting Command.
Ninety-five percent of the past year’s Army recruits were high school graduates. Sixty two percent scored in the upper half of the ASVAB, passing the 60 percent Department of Defense standard.
“We were pleased with the result that we had, both in volume and quality, for this year,” Batschelet said. “Our quality was some of the highest that we’ve experienced in many, many years.”
Even in the face of tightening standards for Army enlistment, recruiting the right people is still possible, said Master Sgt. Donald Gallagher of the Recruiting and Retention School.
“If recruiters just focus on what the Army wants and needs and make that their priority and go out and find that person, they’ll be successful, although they might have to work a little bit harder,” Gallagher said.
Batschelet said recruiting is becoming more challenging and recruiters are reporting they’re having more difficulty finding youth interested in joining the Army.
“What’s working against us is that 3-in-10 number,” Batschelet said. “That youth demographic, the 17 to 24-year-olds that we kind of focus on, that demographic volume-wise is holding steady.
“It may actually grow a little bit between now and 2020, but the rate at which they are being disqualified from service is accelerating.”
In fact, the number of eligible young Americans could drop to two in 10 by 2020. Despite that, Gallagher still thinks recruiters can get the job done.
“If you’re looking for top quality from the get-go, from the day you set foot in your first recruiting center, and you say, ‘I’m going to go find quality people,’ that’s what you’re going to find,” Gallagher said. “Don’t be afraid of hard work.”
Another issue is that “the Army is kind of becoming a family business,” Batschelet said.
Currently, 79 percent of recruits report they have a family member who previously served or is currently serving. Batschelet said he wants to try to get other young Americans who may not have a family connection to the military to join the Army.
“We’re working hard to try and find ways to educate the public about the importance of service,” he said. “We’re working with education professionals, we partner with national school board associations, guidance counselors, and that kind of thing, so we’re proactively trying to spread the word.”
Further complicating the matter, is that some recruiters are being denied access to schools and some school districts aren’t releasing ASVAB results to Army recruiters, Batschelet said; actions that could have unintended consequences.
“We think that’s indirectly sending a signal that service to country in the military is not an honored profession or an honored thing to do or something that you should aspire to,” he said. “It also denies young people an opportunity to hear about some of the benefits, both tangible and intangible, of serving in the Army. Even though the Army is downsizing, the Army still needs people to join.”
The Army has a mandate to trim its force to 450,000 people by 2017. Still it will need a total of about 100,000 young people to join the Army and reserve components each year.
“If there’s a leading indicator of the economy getting better, it’s how recruiting is going, and it is becoming more challenging,” Batschelet said. “Youth unemployment’s coming down and recruiters are reporting that they’re having more challenges in finding interested young people to join the Army, so we’re probably going to have to work a little harder and put a few more recruiters in the field this year and next to meet that mission.”
Lynsie Dickerson, USAREC, Public Affairs Office
Nov. 14, 2014
With the number of young Americans eligible to serve in the Army shrinking to just three in 10 due to obesity, criminal records, and lack of education, the Army may struggle to supply its demand for high-quality recruits in the future, said Maj. Gen. Allen Batschelet, commanding general of U.S. Army Recruiting Command.
Ninety-five percent of the past year’s Army recruits were high school graduates. Sixty two percent scored in the upper half of the ASVAB, passing the 60 percent Department of Defense standard.
“We were pleased with the result that we had, both in volume and quality, for this year,” Batschelet said. “Our quality was some of the highest that we’ve experienced in many, many years.”
Even in the face of tightening standards for Army enlistment, recruiting the right people is still possible, said Master Sgt. Donald Gallagher of the Recruiting and Retention School.
“If recruiters just focus on what the Army wants and needs and make that their priority and go out and find that person, they’ll be successful, although they might have to work a little bit harder,” Gallagher said.
Batschelet said recruiting is becoming more challenging and recruiters are reporting they’re having more difficulty finding youth interested in joining the Army.
“What’s working against us is that 3-in-10 number,” Batschelet said. “That youth demographic, the 17 to 24-year-olds that we kind of focus on, that demographic volume-wise is holding steady.
“It may actually grow a little bit between now and 2020, but the rate at which they are being disqualified from service is accelerating.”
In fact, the number of eligible young Americans could drop to two in 10 by 2020. Despite that, Gallagher still thinks recruiters can get the job done.
“If you’re looking for top quality from the get-go, from the day you set foot in your first recruiting center, and you say, ‘I’m going to go find quality people,’ that’s what you’re going to find,” Gallagher said. “Don’t be afraid of hard work.”
Another issue is that “the Army is kind of becoming a family business,” Batschelet said.
Currently, 79 percent of recruits report they have a family member who previously served or is currently serving. Batschelet said he wants to try to get other young Americans who may not have a family connection to the military to join the Army.
“We’re working hard to try and find ways to educate the public about the importance of service,” he said. “We’re working with education professionals, we partner with national school board associations, guidance counselors, and that kind of thing, so we’re proactively trying to spread the word.”
Further complicating the matter, is that some recruiters are being denied access to schools and some school districts aren’t releasing ASVAB results to Army recruiters, Batschelet said; actions that could have unintended consequences.
“We think that’s indirectly sending a signal that service to country in the military is not an honored profession or an honored thing to do or something that you should aspire to,” he said. “It also denies young people an opportunity to hear about some of the benefits, both tangible and intangible, of serving in the Army. Even though the Army is downsizing, the Army still needs people to join.”
The Army has a mandate to trim its force to 450,000 people by 2017. Still it will need a total of about 100,000 young people to join the Army and reserve components each year.
“If there’s a leading indicator of the economy getting better, it’s how recruiting is going, and it is becoming more challenging,” Batschelet said. “Youth unemployment’s coming down and recruiters are reporting that they’re having more challenges in finding interested young people to join the Army, so we’re probably going to have to work a little harder and put a few more recruiters in the field this year and next to meet that mission.”