USAREC Celebrates 50 years of providing the strength
By Fonda Bock, USAREC, Public Affairs Office
Oct. 9, 2014
“It’s a great day to be 50,” said Maj. Gen. Allen Batschelet, U.S. Army Recruiting Command commanding general during the command’s 50th anniversary ceremony Oct. 3.
Comparing it to the gold vaulted at Fort Knox, Ky., Batschelet said, “USAREC is one of the Army’s most prized treasures – hardworking teammates who shape the Army by finding the most qualified Americans to defend the greatest nation the world has ever known.”
Activated Oct. 1, 1964 following the recommendation of a committee appointed to study recruiting, USAREC has put approximately six million Soldiers in boots.
Since then many things have changed about recruiting - some have stayed the same.
In the early days through 2001, recruiters had to carry a “gorilla bag.” Measuring about 2-feet long, 21inches wide and 18 inches high, the bag contained every tool a recruiter needed for prospecting: applications, RPIs, business cards, a planning guide, extra packets, and a briefcase known as a “Fairchild” that opened up into a film projector for viewing training films about different MOSs. Fully stocked, it weighed between 10 and 20 pounds.
Today, all that information is in a five ounce Smartphone recruiters carry in a pocket.
Retired USAREC Deputy G3 Frank Shaffrey began his long career with the command as a recruiter in 1973 when he said applicants literally enlisted on one day and shipped out 24 hours later.
“We had shaving kits and comfort packs supplied by the Red Cross for those we shipped the next day,” said Shaffrey. “They made a phone call home to say goodbye to their parents or loved ones and then were put on a bus or a flight to a basic training location.”
The command gradually transitioned out of the quick ship mode going to a contract mission that allowed for a more precise, specific MOS planning and quality placement. Specialty missions became more and more important as the command started recruiting for Special Forces, Rangers, Cohesion Operational Readiness Training (COHORT) units, specific language specialties and more recently for the Foreign Language Recruiting Initiative (FLRI), and Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI).
USAREC was on the forefront of developing technologies that became the foundation of systems used by the command today. The early legacy systems aimed to become a single source data entry that allowed self-application for enlistment, and records that could be stored and transferred electronically to the training base eliminating paper packets, records and forms.
Interfacing with United States Military Entrance Processing Command’s Integrated Resource System (MIRS) further expanded the Army’s ability to import applicant data from national security background checks, alien registration and prior service records, making the possibility of fraud minimal.
USAREC started using electronic background checks before sending applicants to MEPS for processing. That practically eliminated the need for hard copy police checks, saving the command valuable time and resources by eliminating applicants early in the process who’d concealed information.
“We were the first recruiting service to utilize social media,” said Shaffrey. “We created the Cyber Station, which began the process of on-line application, interviews and live chat.”
While recruiters still visit high schools and walk the malls, the days of sending hard copy mailings to homes with the promise of free T-shirts and tube socks to draw prospects has been replaced by social media. Apps, Facebook, Twitter and the internet have created new ways to tell the Army story and communicate with prospects. Talking on the phone is out, texting is in.
The slogans have changed several times over the past five decades to include the popular long running “Be All You Can Be” campaign introduced in October 1980, the short lived “An Army of One” which debuted in January 2001, and the current “Army Strong” introduced in 2006.
“As the command prepares to recruit the best and brightest in an improving economy, we must position ourselves to successfully reach our shrinking target market,” said USAREC Command Sgt. Maj. Willie Clemmons. “In the past, our focus was to be geographically co-located with our targeted demographic. Today, we must geographically locate them, but co-locate with them virtually and be more creative in how we present the Army opportunity.”
Studies show generation X shops based upon testimonials and looks for opportunities in their own space and time.
“We must meet them in that space and time,” said Clemmons. “Based upon theses generation’s preferences, we must move from brick and mortar infrastructures to virtual infrastructures to build a community of trust through testimonials and references.”
USAREC’s senior leaders realize that to reach and relate to the market, the command must transition from laptops to smart phones and tablets; stop using postcards and letters and move to e-mail; and decrease filing cabinets and increase mobile cloud computing and operations.
“The recruiter of 2020 and beyond will be equipped with mobile “smart” technology capable of providing real-time and up-to-date information at the point of engagement with the American populace: focusing on the exact information needed, at the correct time, accessible from any device, any location, no matter the operating conditions or environment,” said Clemmons. “This new approach will enable us to meet them in their own terms to present the Army opportunity through social media and mobile-based operations.”
Twenty years ago, it was a much larger Army with larger annual missions. The command’s marketing approach was to reach the masses as quickly and effectively as possible. USAREC spent large sums of money on what is known as “carpet bombing,” placing ads on radio and TV to reach the masses, not specific demographics that could actually be recruited. The future approach will be more efficient with limited resources, leveraging heavily on digital assets and social media, neither of which were available 20 years ago.
But while many of the tools have changed, some of the fundamentals have not, and the need for human interaction remains the most necessary part of the recruiting process.
"Recruiters still need to shake a hand and ask for a commitment, even if it's virtually," said Clemmons. "Even though our target market today prefers to communicate electronically, someone still needs to ask a prospect to enlist, thank them for their commitment and shake their hand. This creates a bond and a trust that is necessary when asking someone to commit to serving their country."
By Fonda Bock, USAREC, Public Affairs Office
Oct. 9, 2014
“It’s a great day to be 50,” said Maj. Gen. Allen Batschelet, U.S. Army Recruiting Command commanding general during the command’s 50th anniversary ceremony Oct. 3.
Comparing it to the gold vaulted at Fort Knox, Ky., Batschelet said, “USAREC is one of the Army’s most prized treasures – hardworking teammates who shape the Army by finding the most qualified Americans to defend the greatest nation the world has ever known.”
Activated Oct. 1, 1964 following the recommendation of a committee appointed to study recruiting, USAREC has put approximately six million Soldiers in boots.
Since then many things have changed about recruiting - some have stayed the same.
In the early days through 2001, recruiters had to carry a “gorilla bag.” Measuring about 2-feet long, 21inches wide and 18 inches high, the bag contained every tool a recruiter needed for prospecting: applications, RPIs, business cards, a planning guide, extra packets, and a briefcase known as a “Fairchild” that opened up into a film projector for viewing training films about different MOSs. Fully stocked, it weighed between 10 and 20 pounds.
Today, all that information is in a five ounce Smartphone recruiters carry in a pocket.
Retired USAREC Deputy G3 Frank Shaffrey began his long career with the command as a recruiter in 1973 when he said applicants literally enlisted on one day and shipped out 24 hours later.
“We had shaving kits and comfort packs supplied by the Red Cross for those we shipped the next day,” said Shaffrey. “They made a phone call home to say goodbye to their parents or loved ones and then were put on a bus or a flight to a basic training location.”
The command gradually transitioned out of the quick ship mode going to a contract mission that allowed for a more precise, specific MOS planning and quality placement. Specialty missions became more and more important as the command started recruiting for Special Forces, Rangers, Cohesion Operational Readiness Training (COHORT) units, specific language specialties and more recently for the Foreign Language Recruiting Initiative (FLRI), and Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI).
USAREC was on the forefront of developing technologies that became the foundation of systems used by the command today. The early legacy systems aimed to become a single source data entry that allowed self-application for enlistment, and records that could be stored and transferred electronically to the training base eliminating paper packets, records and forms.
Interfacing with United States Military Entrance Processing Command’s Integrated Resource System (MIRS) further expanded the Army’s ability to import applicant data from national security background checks, alien registration and prior service records, making the possibility of fraud minimal.
USAREC started using electronic background checks before sending applicants to MEPS for processing. That practically eliminated the need for hard copy police checks, saving the command valuable time and resources by eliminating applicants early in the process who’d concealed information.
“We were the first recruiting service to utilize social media,” said Shaffrey. “We created the Cyber Station, which began the process of on-line application, interviews and live chat.”
While recruiters still visit high schools and walk the malls, the days of sending hard copy mailings to homes with the promise of free T-shirts and tube socks to draw prospects has been replaced by social media. Apps, Facebook, Twitter and the internet have created new ways to tell the Army story and communicate with prospects. Talking on the phone is out, texting is in.
The slogans have changed several times over the past five decades to include the popular long running “Be All You Can Be” campaign introduced in October 1980, the short lived “An Army of One” which debuted in January 2001, and the current “Army Strong” introduced in 2006.
“As the command prepares to recruit the best and brightest in an improving economy, we must position ourselves to successfully reach our shrinking target market,” said USAREC Command Sgt. Maj. Willie Clemmons. “In the past, our focus was to be geographically co-located with our targeted demographic. Today, we must geographically locate them, but co-locate with them virtually and be more creative in how we present the Army opportunity.”
Studies show generation X shops based upon testimonials and looks for opportunities in their own space and time.
“We must meet them in that space and time,” said Clemmons. “Based upon theses generation’s preferences, we must move from brick and mortar infrastructures to virtual infrastructures to build a community of trust through testimonials and references.”
USAREC’s senior leaders realize that to reach and relate to the market, the command must transition from laptops to smart phones and tablets; stop using postcards and letters and move to e-mail; and decrease filing cabinets and increase mobile cloud computing and operations.
“The recruiter of 2020 and beyond will be equipped with mobile “smart” technology capable of providing real-time and up-to-date information at the point of engagement with the American populace: focusing on the exact information needed, at the correct time, accessible from any device, any location, no matter the operating conditions or environment,” said Clemmons. “This new approach will enable us to meet them in their own terms to present the Army opportunity through social media and mobile-based operations.”
Twenty years ago, it was a much larger Army with larger annual missions. The command’s marketing approach was to reach the masses as quickly and effectively as possible. USAREC spent large sums of money on what is known as “carpet bombing,” placing ads on radio and TV to reach the masses, not specific demographics that could actually be recruited. The future approach will be more efficient with limited resources, leveraging heavily on digital assets and social media, neither of which were available 20 years ago.
But while many of the tools have changed, some of the fundamentals have not, and the need for human interaction remains the most necessary part of the recruiting process.
"Recruiters still need to shake a hand and ask for a commitment, even if it's virtually," said Clemmons. "Even though our target market today prefers to communicate electronically, someone still needs to ask a prospect to enlist, thank them for their commitment and shake their hand. This creates a bond and a trust that is necessary when asking someone to commit to serving their country."