Army Retention Rate Is At 15% Above Goal

[Annie]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-04-09-army-re-enlistments_x.htm

Army surpassing year's retention goal by 15%
Posted 4/9/2006 10:57 PM
By Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Two of every three eligible soldiers continue to re-enlist, putting the Army, which has endured most of the fighting in Iraq, ahead of its annual goal.

The Army was 15% ahead of its re-enlistment goal of 34,668 for the first six months of fiscal year 2006, which ended March 31. More than 39,900 soldiers had re-enlisted, according to figures scheduled to be released today by the Army.

Strong retention has helped the Army offset recruiting that has failed to meet its targets as the war in Iraq has made it harder to attract new soldiers. The Army fell 8% short of its goal of recruiting 80,000 soldiers in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, although it is exceeding its goal this year. Army recruiting figures for the first half of the year are to be released today.

The Army has met or exceeded its goals for retention for the past five years, records show. It was 8% over its goal for 2005, and 7% ahead of its targets for 2004. The number of re-enlistments has exceeded the Army's goal by a larger margin each year since 2001.

Soldiers like the Army, "and the war is not causing people to leave," says Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, an Army spokesman. Through March, 2,325 U.S. troops had been killed in Iraq; 1,593 were Army soldiers.

The Pentagon announced in March that each of the armed forces was on track to meet its retention goal for the year.

Pay and re-enlistment bonuses help, Hilferty says. Bonuses range from nothing to $150,000 for a handful of special operations commandos. The average re-enlistment bonus is $6,000, Hilferty says.

"It's not just pay," Hilferty says. "Our people want to be part of something greater than themselves, and they're willing to put up with a lot."

Charles Henning, a national defense analyst with the Congressional Research Service, says robust re-enlistment allows the Army to maintain its strength.

"Retention has been a very positive thing for the Army," Henning says. "That's an indicator of very high morale, high esprit de corps. It's a very solid indicator that soldiers are gratified, or they'd vote with their feet."

In the longer term, the trend could create an older, more expensive-to-maintain Army, according to military sociologist Charles Moskos, an emeritus professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.

The Army needs to balance career soldiers with younger troops who serve for just a few years, Moskos says.

"It can be financially astounding in terms of retirement and health benefits," Moskos says. "You need more citizen soldiers rather than professionals."

The Army accounts for age when it accepts soldiers for re-enlistment, Hilferty says. While the Army has fewer privates and more specialists than in the past, he says, the age structure is balanced. "We're aware of it, and we're considering it."

 

[nosarcasm]

they lowered their goals to be able to meet them. The spin stops here.

Its the Enron bookcooking government style. Oldest trick in the book.

 

[Annie]

they lowered their goals to be able to meet them. The spin stops here.

Its the Enron bookcooking government style. Oldest trick in the book.

I've looked for something on this, can't find anything going back to 1999. What links do you have?

 

[nosarcasm]

I heard about that change of recruitment goals on NPR some time ago when they talked to recruiters about the problems they had achieving goal numbers.

But you can find on the Defense department website the
fact that the army National Guard is only up to 96% of endstrength.

They miss 4% of their needed personnel.
I couldn't find the army numbers either.

I also wonder how the retention was counted before.

With the economy solid, and the casualties in Iraq still making headlines it is
just hard to attract many young people. They added more benefits latetely maybe it will help.

The army has also stopped to demand more troops, now the taxpayer pays private companies triple for their security personnell.

Its all part of the Iraq war politics.

 

[Annie]

I heard about that change of recruitment goals on NPR some time ago when they talked to recruiters about the problems they had achieving goal numbers.

But you can find on the Defense department website the
fact that the army National Guard is only up to 96% of endstrength.

They miss 4% of their needed personnel.
I couldn't find the army numbers either.

I also wonder how the retention was counted before.

With the economy solid, and the casualties in Iraq still making headlines it is
just hard to attract many young people. They added more benefits latetely maybe it will help.

The army has also stopped to demand more troops, now the taxpayer pays private companies triple for their security personnell.

Its all part of the Iraq war politics.

I'm finding plenty of .gov stuff, just nothing that would back up 'fudging numbers'. Explanations of retention, including shortfalls on reserves are listed. The 15% # is army only:

http://www.dod.gov/news/Jan2006/20060110_3893.html

Innovative Programs Help Army Maintain Recruiting Comeback
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2006 – A variety of innovative recruiting initiatives, from a program to re-enlist veterans to an increase in the maximum enlistment age for the Army Reserve and National Guard, are being credited with the Army's continued success in reaching its recruiting and retention goals.

All active-duty services exceeded their recruiting goals for December, and four of the six reserve components met or exceeded their December goals, Defense Department officials announced today. Only the Navy Reserve and Air National Guard fell short of their goals.

The Army, the most closely watched service in terms of recruitment, continued its steady comeback among both its active and reserve components after a springtime slump. During December, the Army recruited 741 new members, 106 percent of its goal; 4,456 National Guardsmen, 108 percent of its goal; and 1,341 Army Reservists, 102 percent of its goal, DoD officials said.

Part of that comeback is attributed to a boost in recruiters, from just over 5,100 active-duty and 955 reserve recruiters in 2004 to more than 6,400 active and 1,500 reserve recruiters by the end of fiscal 2005, Douglas Smith, a spokesman for U.S. Army Recruiting Command, told the American Forces Press Service.

By early November, those numbers had climbed again, to 6,531 and 1,701, respectively, Smith said.

In addition to increasing its recruiting force, the Army raised the maximum age for enlistment in the reserve components by five years, Smith said. The change, which went into effect last March and does not apply to the active force, enables prospects who have not yet reached their 40th birthday to join the Army Guard and Reserve, Smith said. The previous age limit was 35.

Under another initiative introduced in 2005, the "Unity of Effort" program, the Army is contacting 78,000 former members to see if they are interested in rejoining the force. The program enables veterans to retain their previous grade if they enlist within 48 months after separation. Depending on their career field, they can receive up to $19,000 in enlistment bonuses, officials said.

Similarly, prior-service officers can re-establish their military service benefits, and in some cases, qualify for a career specialty not available during their past service. If they join the Army Reserve, they can receive a bonus of up to $6,000.

In another new effort, the Army contracted with a new advertising agency, McCann Erickson Worldwide. The agency counts among its clients Coca-Cola, MasterCard, Maybelline, Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, and Black & Decker, and is expected to help enhance the Army's communications with young people and their parents.

Army officials said they have no plans to change the "Army of One" theme during the transition to the new advertising agency.

"I'm kind of proud of what the United States Army has done in the last six months," Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters during a Jan. 5 Pentagon briefing, noting that the Army was missing its recruiting goals.

"The leadership of the Army looked at that, put more recruiters on the street, put more advertising out there," Pace said, resulting in the turnaround. "So I think the leadership of the Army recognized a potential problem, did what they should have done, which is apply more assets and leadership to it, and the results have been proved in the last six months. They're doing very well."

The 2006 National Defense Authorization Act, signed into law Jan. 6 by President Bush, gives the Army more tools to maintain this momentum.

Among them is a measure that authorizes the secretary of the Army to offer a bonus of up to $1,000 for servicemembers who refer someone who enlists in the Army and successfully completes basic training. This new bonus, if used, would essentially turn any active or reserve member who chooses to become one into a recruiter, Chuck Witschonke, DoD's deputy director for compensation, told the American Forces Press Service and the Pentagon Channel.

"It would establish a whole new field of recruiters who will help refer people into the military," he said.

Another innovation is a bonus of up to $2,500 for servicemembers who agree to transfer from one service to another and serve for at least three years. Details of the program are still being worked out. But Witschonke said it will be an important incentive for servicemembers whose job series are being downsized to transfer their skills into another service that needs them, particularly the Army.

The new law gives the secretary of the Army a new, broad authority to offer creative new incentives to recruit enlisted members and officers. "We should see some innovative initiatives out of that," Witschonke said.

Recognizing the importance of the reserve components to national defense, the new law provides several initiatives to boost enlistment and retention in the Guard and Reserve.

These include a bonus of up to $100,000 over a career for members with a designated critical skill or who volunteer to serve in a designated high-priority unit.

The law also authorizes an increase in the maximum affiliation bonus for officers in the Selected Reserve, from $6,000 to $10,000, and an extension of eligibility for a prior-service enlistment bonus, to include Selected Reserve members who previously received one, Witschonke said.

"There are a lot of things that are attractive in the bill and will support recruiting and retention," he said.

The Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force also exceeded their recruiting goals for December, reporting 101, 106 and 101 percent of their goals met, respectively, defense officials said today.

In addition, all services met or exceeded their retention goals for December and are expected to meet their year-end retention goals as well.

Among the other reserve components, the Marine Corps Reserve and Air Force Reserve both reached 100 percent of their December goals. The Air National Guard achieved 91 percent of its goal, but continues to retain so many airmen that its end strength remains high, officials said.

The Navy Reserve fell short in December, reaching 78 percent of its recruiting goal for the month. Officials say high retention rates in the active Navy create a shortfall in the recruiting pool for the Navy Reserve.

See also:

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache...gov&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=8&client=firefox-a

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache...ov&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=11&client=firefox-a

 

[nosarcasm]

while trying to find some more info something else became evident.

Lots of newspapers just print the Ap Reports with no input or research on their own.

There are a bunch of crazy leftwing sides out there that put their worthless propaganda out there.

I ll try to find out more.

 

[Annie]

while trying to find some more info something else became evident.

Lots of newspapers just print the Ap Reports with no input or research on their own.

There are a bunch of crazy leftwing sides out there that put their worthless propaganda out there.

I ll try to find out more.

That's why I wanted to stick with .gov sites. While I'm surely not saying they couldn't 'revise' numbers, they are pretty good at keeping the information before and after available. Just not finding what I thought you were saying in your first response.

 

[nosarcasm]

me neither. so I have to find it or concede.

 

[Hobbit]

NPR is not a reliable news source. You might want to recheck your facts.

 

[nosarcasm]

I found something in the Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001254.html

The Army has set a mission for fiscal 2006, which ends on September 30, of sending 80,000 recruits into boot camp, the same goal that it missed by more than 6,600 in fiscal 2005.

In March, the Army got 5,396 new recruits, topping its goal of 5,200, the 10th month in a row it has exceeded its monthly target.

But the Army partly owes its success in reaching those goals to the fact that it reduced its monthly targets for six of the first eight months of fiscal 2006. That means most of its recruiting must occur from June through September, when the monthly goals are all much higher than last year's.

 

[dmp]

who gives a rat's ass what the goals are. People much smarter than anyone on this board - maybe except gop_jeff - get paid a LOT of money to set realistic goals.


That last link HAS to be 100% BS because the Army doesn't HAVE 'Boot Camp'.

 

[JOKER96BRAVO]

I've had a few friends get called back already.
I wonder if they are counting them as "willing recruits".

 

[nosarcasm]

who gives a rat's ass what the goals are. People much smarter than anyone on this board - maybe except gop_jeff - get paid a LOT of money to set realistic goals.


That last link HAS to be 100% BS because the Army doesn't HAVE 'Boot Camp'.

I am pretty sure the army trains the recruits in something. I am not sure if they call it bootcamp.

Any US veterans that can enlighten us?

 

[JOKER96BRAVO]

I am pretty sure the army trains the recruits in something. I am not sure if they call it bootcamp.

Any US veterans that can enlighten us?

BASIC TRAINING, DRILL SERGEAAAAANT

 

[Annie]

I am pretty sure the army trains the recruits in something. I am not sure if they call it bootcamp.

Any US veterans that can enlighten us?

I agree with Darin about the setting of goals and who sets them. I also understand the difference between recruit and retention rates, which is being confused with the WaPo link.

 

[dmp]

BASIC TRAINING, DRILL SERGEAAAAANT

 

[dmp]

I am pretty sure the army trains the recruits in something. I am not sure if they call it bootcamp.

Any US veterans that can enlighten us?

I am a veteran, and my job here on this board is to enlighten 'you'.

 

[JOKER96BRAVO]

I agree with Darin about the setting of goals and who sets them. I also understand the difference between recruit and retention rates, which is being confused with the WaPo link.

So since we all understand that, where do the recalls get counted?

 

[nosarcasm]

I am a veteran, and my job here on this board is to enlighten 'you'.

I am veteran and my job is to upset you.

 

[JOKER96BRAVO]

I am veteran and my job is to upset you.

That's sad...really.
Why not just say...
"I'm here for intelligent debate"