While the U.S. Army continues to have problems recruiting enough troops, some interesting patterns are emerging from the situation. First, there is not a shortage of volunteers overall. The problem is that the navy, marines and air force have a surplus of applicants. It’s only the army that is having problems, and then mainly with filling combat support jobs (which make up some 85 percent of the positions). The army recruiters are often unable to sign up those applicants who weren’t able to get into the navy, air force or marines.
The army is also noticing regional patterns. Recruiting is holding steady in the Midwest, and is up in the South. In other words, the recruiting tends to follow political patterns. The Blue (Democratic) states are sending fewer volunteers, and the Red (Republican) states more. But the Blue/Red state may have more to do with job prospects than political beliefs. Areas where the unemployment rate is the lowest tend to be the toughest for recruiters.
There’s also the reality factor. Troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan are more likely to reenlist. Some of this is due to higher re-enlistment bonuses, but those re-enlisting (and 35 percent of them do it in a combat zone) often say they believe strongly in what they are doing, and that’s why they volunteer to keep doing it. By the end of the year, the army expects to get 4,000 more re-enlistments than it expected. A disproportionate number of these are coming from combat troops, which is very helpful. Combat experience is invaluable, and perishable. Keeping such experienced troops in combat units makes those outfits more effective, and lowers the friendly casualty rates. |