SEATTLE ARMY RECRUITING BATTALION, Wash. -- U.S. Army recruiters spend an enormous amount of time searching for recruits in high schools across the country. Principals, administrators, teachers and coaches are often the gatekeepers who allow or block access to their students, so what recruiter wouldn't want to know how one of those gatekeepers think?
Sgt. 1st Class Roger O'Connell, Spokane Valley Army Career Center Army Reserve recruiter, knows exactly how they think. O'Connell, a recruiter for the past nine years, spent several years as a high school principal at Berean Academy in Sierra Vista, Ariz.
"I remember watching recruiters, from all the branches, walk into MY school and start demanding lists, opportunities with my students and anything else they believed themselves to be entitled to," O'Connell said. "I came into recruiting, nine years ago, with those images burned into my brain."
These types of images have shaped his approach when dealing with the gatekeepers at schools. Lt. Col. Vylius Leskys, Seattle Army Recruiting Battalion commander, asked O'Connell to put some recommendations together to help other recruiters within the battalion. O'Connell had five main recommendations:
- Remember that we are guests in their school.
- Realize that we need them more than they need us.
- Be preemptive. Don't wait until the first week of school to introduce yourself and find out what the school expects of you.
- Be a friend before you need a friend.
- Know that one wrong act, even a mistaken act, can have lasting consequences.
O'Connell presented his recommendations and talked about his experiences as a principal during the battalion's last round of quarterly center leader training.
Staff Sgt. Christian O'Keefe, Marysville Army Career Center commander, attended the briefings and said O'Connell's views will help his center.
"Anytime you have a teammate who has experience on the other side of the conversation, we gain the advantage of gaining their perspective and train of thought," O'Keefe said. The brief provided insights about what high school principals think and we gained an understanding of their concerns, he said.
Capt. Peter Matonis, Spokane Army Recruiting Company commander, views O'Connell as an integral part of the company
"He was able to give us that different perspective that I don't think recruiters get," said Matonis. "When they talk to somebody that's been in that position, I think it kind of eases some minds and helps out," he said.
During the briefing, O'Connell discussed other tactics, techniques and procedures for operating in high schools and promoting the U.S. Army Reserve as an option for applicants.
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