Army getting selective on applicants

[goon175]

For those of you needing waivers or wanting certain options/incenctives, this is worth a read:

Recruiters raise bar as drawdown nears


Army gets pickier, but doctors, priests, dentists in demand

By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Dec 5, 2011 7:16:02 EST



Next year’s Army recruits will be smarter, cleaner, fitter — and fewer.

As the Army moves toward a 49,000-soldier drawdown, Recruiting Command has become much pickier: fewer waivers, fewer recruits who score poorly on aptitude tests — and practically no one who’s been in trouble.

But if you’re a doctor, dentist, a native language speaker or a Catholic chaplain, you can write your own ticket.

“You have to aspire to come into the Army today,” said Maj. Gen. David Mann, commanding general of Recruiting Command. “You’ve got to complete high school. You’ve got to be physically fit, and you’ve got to stay out of trouble and show a genuine desire to join the Army. It’s not a foregone conclusion or a last resort.”


By the numbers

517: Recruits who got misconduct waivers in fiscal year 2011

3,161: Recruits who got the waivers in fiscal 2010

5,300: Recruits who got them in fiscal 2009


In fiscal 2011, the Army hit its goals and recruited 64,019 new active-duty soldiers and 19,998 for the Army Reserve. The goals for the year were 64,000 and 19,320, respectively.

Of those soldiers, 98.7 percent were high school graduates and only 0.32 percent achieved Category IV scores on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery.

Recruits with Cat IV scores are those who score in the 15th to 30th percentile on the ASVAB; the Defense Department allows for up to 4 percent of recruits with these scores.

Most of the recruits with Cat IV scores had a specific skill set, such as language, Mann said.

Misconduct waivers also dropped significantly, Mann said.

In fiscal 2012, the Army hopes to recruit 58,000 new soldiers for the active force and 21,320 for the Army Reserve.

“Even though this year we’re looking at 58,000 in the active Army … I think you’re going to see somewhat of a plateau,” Mann said. “It’ll be somewhere around 62,000 for the Army. I don’t see a significant change in the mission in the next three to five years.”

Mann said Recruiting Command is looking at ways to be more efficient in light of the budget crisis, but he also is confident he will receive the resources he needs.

“The Army recognizes the importance of maintaining a strong, robust recruiting force,” Mann said.

Other challenges include education and obesity, he said.

“Right now, in the 17-24 year group, 23 percent fully qualify to join the Army today,” he said. “That, coupled with the obesity challenges we have, among 12- to 19-year-olds, about one in five of that category is considered overweight or obese.”

Last year, to achieve the Army’s goal of 64,000 new soldiers, recruiters screened more than 400,000 recruits.

To combat some of those challenges, Army recruiters are going back into high schools.

“The Army is making an all-out effort to partner with educators to help keep kids in school,” Mann said. “That’s a top priority, regardless of whether they come into the Army.”

Across the country, recruiters are linking up with local educators to find ways to connect with kids in areas such as leadership, mentoring and tutoring, Mann said.

“In the past, the [recruiting] mission was a little more of a challenge and we were focused on folks who had already graduated and to a lesser extent to the schools,” he said. “[This is] just a way for the Army to give back to America, frankly.”

The Army also is focusing its efforts on recruiting medical professionals, Mann said.

Recruiters are visiting medical schools and talking to students about issues such as loan repayment and Army life to try and encourage them to consider the Army, he said. In particular, the Army is seeking dentists and general practice doctors, he said.

“We have made a lot of improvements in this area, but we still have a ways to go to really go after a lot of those medical skills that, quite frankly, there’s a shortage across the country,” he said.

Another focus area is Catholic chaplains, Mann said.

“Across the world, there is a shortage of priests, so we’re competing with the civilian sector,” he said.

The Army’s current recruiting success has allowed it to be more targeted in its recruiting, Mann said.

“Now that we’re doing so well with the volume, it gives us the flexibility to focus on the precision,” he said. “What the Army is doing is we’re going back and looking at our requirements to make sure we have accurately captured what our requirements are to make sure we’re going after the right mission.”

[Invictus]

OK, I apologize in advance for the hijack, but this comment is bullshit:

“You have to aspire to come into the Army today,” said Maj. Gen. David Mann, commanding general of Recruiting Command. “You’ve got to complete high school. You’ve got to be physically fit, and you’ve got to stay out of trouble and show a genuine desire to join the Army. It’s not a foregone conclusion or a last resort.”

As evidenced by these numbers:

By the numbers

517: Recruits who got misconduct waivers in fiscal year 2011

3,161: Recruits who got the waivers in fiscal 2010

5,300: Recruits who got them in fiscal 2009

Don't get on your moral high horse just because there's a drawdown. There was a time, not very long ago the army was hurting for bodies. That didn't change because they raised the moral bar....the bar was raised because we're scaling down and there's less demand.

This doesn't in any way diminish the point of your post...just struck me the wrong way.

[goon175]

I agree with you. I have many opinions on this topic since i'm "in the biz", that aren't appropriate for me to post on here, but suffice it to say that I totally agree with you.

[Jim]

It is simply a "numbers game," as you said. I've been watching how we are doing the downsizing plans, and we are going to experience a reduction that will dwarf anything we did since the end of WWII. The Army leadership is already paying much more attention to the overweight soldiers that are all too common / visable. Most of our people are in pretty good shape -- so this aspect won't impact them too much. But take my word for it we are going to go through a very tough time FY13 and beyond.

[goon175]

An e-mail I recieved at work:

ALL,

Beginning 1 April 2012, Department of the Army will begin the Enlisted Qualitative Service Program (QSP). The intent of this program is to retain the "highest quality NCOs", while also achieving mandated future force structure requirements.

This will be accomplished through three sub-programs:

QMP - During senior enlisted promotion boards, Senior NCOs may be denied continued service if their performance, conduct, and potential does not meet Army standards.

OS-QSP - NCOs in over-strength MOSs may be asked to leave the service or reclassify to an under-strength MOS.

PS-QSP - NCOs in MOSs that have stagnant promotion rates may be asked to leave the service or reclassify to an under-strength MOS.

[goon175]

If you did the research in these forums, you would see there is no height restriction for the Ranger Regiment.

I myself am 6'5", 218 lbs

[goon175]

So I guess you saw this.....

viewtopic.php?f=52&t=53813" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Where does it say there is a height requirement?

[Steadfast]

Ranger goon175,
No where and yes i did see that...sorry for bothering you all...i just think it is fucked up that he keeps saying i am too tall...i guess i will print out your topic and show it to him and if he says the same thing i will just have to go to a diff station....thank you for your time goon
Ranger goon175 is not your friend, give him the respect he is due. Do yourself a favor & read all FAQ's on this site.

[Baseplate]

If we were standing around the Ranger Bn right now someone would say to you "Who in the fuck do you think you are talking to, asshole?" But we aren't so I will say you should correct yourself and you might want to pull your head out of your rear end while you are at it.

[Baseplate]

Christ on a crutch you are fucking dumb