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WASHINGTON, June 10, 2005 - The Army hopes to introduce new incentives
to attract recruits while working to educate parents, teachers and other
adults who influence young people's decision to enlist about the long-term
benefits of military service.
Army leaders hope to boost enlistment bonuses to help jump-start sagging
recruiting rates, according to Bill Carr, acting deputy undersecretary
of defense for military personnel policy. They also hope to introduce
a new benefit that helps soldiers purchase homes.
The incentives, if approved by Congress and signed by the president,
would not apply to all soldiers, but will be "selectively applied" depending
on the circumstances, Carr explained during an interview today with
the American Forces Press Service and the Pentagon Channel.
The current enlistment bonus is $20,000, the rate introduced in 1999.
The version of the fiscal 2006 Defense Authorization Bill under consideration
in the House of Representatives proposes raising this figure to $30,000.
Carr said the Army is "hopeful we can do even better than that."
Also under consideration is pilot program that would pay up to $50,000
in mortgage costs for recruits who enlist for eight years of duty, Carr
said.
Carr said this concept is popular among potential recruits, but resonates
particularly well among adults who influence their decisions regarding
military service.
Army officials express concern that these "influencers" are steering
young people away the military over concerns that they'll be deployed
to Iraq or elsewhere in harm's way.
In response, the Army has launched an information effort to help turn
them around and demonstrate that the military is "a good foundation
to build the rest of your life on," Carr said.
Television and magazine ads directed to these influencers emphasize
the educational and personal growth opportunities the military provides.
"The way we represent ourselves has shifted," Carr said. "In the past,
we talked to youth about the advantages of them joining the service.
But the message has changed more toward why it makes sense for your
son or daughter to serve in the military today and ... what's in it
for them."
The message doesn't minimize the possibility that recruits may go into
combat and face danger, Carr said. Instead, it focuses on "the certainty
of what the military has to offer," he said.
When comparing the two, "it's a wonderful calculation," Carr said.
Carr said it's too soon to tell how the new ads or the introduction
of shorter-term enlistments have affected recruiting.
The Army began offering a 15-month enlistment option last month that
gives recruits in 59 different specialties a choice of following military
duty with service in a program such as AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps.
The 15-Month Plus Training Enlistment Option was first introduced in
October 2003 as a pilot program in 10 of the Army's 41 recruiting battalions,
but was expanded nationwide in mid-May.
He's optimistic that recruiting will pick up during the summer months,
when new high school graduates begin visiting their local recruiting
stations. Compared to the traditionally slow spring recruiting season,
"summer is an enormously more favorable environment," he said.
© 2005 DefenseLink. All opinions expressed
in this article are the author's and do not necessarily reflect those
of Military.com.
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