As the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, I am honored to provide overall supervision of manpower and reserve component affairs of the Department of the Army. I am impressed every day by the talent, commitment, and spirit of the Soldiers, Civilians, and Family Members who make up our Army; and it is incumbent as leaders that we ensure Army policies and programs reflect our nation's commitment to care for and support our Total Army as they serve at home and abroad.
RECRUITING GENERATION Z
Part of my responsibility is the long-term sustainment of the "All-Volunteer" force. At its core, the Defense Department's Force of the Future initiatives are about recruiting, developing, and retaining talented men and women to take on the challenges we face today and the unknown dangers in the future. In order for us to fill this amazing force, we have relied on an "All-Volunteer" Army -- individuals who raise their hand to serve in uniform. Today, approximately 40 percent of those who enter our Army are propensed to serve, which means that the vast majority of individuals who join the Army were not thinking of joining before we reached out to them. As we look to the future, we need to look at recruiting differently in order to be successful. As an organization, we must step back from institutional biases and make holistic decisions to prepare the Total Army for the inevitable trials our nation will face. We no longer have the luxury to continue to recruit the Army of tomorrow with the last generation's recruiting tactics and systems.
Of the general population of 17-24 year olds, 14% are propensed to serve in the military, and of those only 9% are propensed to serve in the Army. Further, only 29% of these youths are qualified to serve. It is clear that we must increase our focus on changing the minds of those not propensed to serve, which becomes challenging in a resource constrained environment. However, we must continue to engage and assess alternative ways to reach all eligible Americans and take advantage of new methods to achieve our objective.
We know that most 15-20 year-olds have access to internet technology from a young age and an increasing number of them no longer consistently watch network television. Instead, they receive their news and entertainment on mobile devices through digital streaming services or social media. In order to capture the interest of "Generation Z" (people born in the 1990s and the first decade of the 2000s), we need to improve our engagement with them through social and digital media. If we want young Americans to understand that the Army is the most technologically advanced force in the world, we must be able to harness technology to recruit, develop and retain young Americans. Leveraging big data analytics and micro-targeting to build a digital recruiting database to reach both propensed and non-propensed youth, regardless of their race, gender, socio-economic or geographic backgrounds, are examples of how we need to change our recruitment tactics. These approaches could not only be more efficient, but may also be cost-effective as well.
We are learning how the private sector, particularly Information Technology (IT) corporations, recruit, develop and retain their talent, and are harvesting lessons learned to enable the Army to leverage best practices. One example is being able to optimize our own internal talent. IT firms often rely on their managers and employees to recruit talent. The belief is that quality employees who believe in the company, its goals and missions, will want to bring their friends, colleagues and family into the company to continue to build a bench of quality employees. Under the current system, our institution primarily relies on the institutional Army of recruiters, officer training programs and the United States Military Academy to bring in qualified enlisted soldiers and officers. But, what if we change our culture so that every soldier and civilian took a personal interest in ensuring that the Army had access to quality candidates that they know? By doing so, perhaps we can begin to address misperceptions of service in uniform and the civilian-military divide that continues to grow in our country.
As the Secretary of Defense announced this past spring, we must modernize our systems for recruiting and processing new Soldiers and civilians into the Army. While we have the most technologically advanced and equipped military in the world, our recruiting and personnel IT systems are challenged to meet the mobile demands of today. Many of our processes still require individuals to fill out form after form, many which are duplicative in nature but are required for different reasons. We need a system that will allow us to track and support an individual who we touch from the moment they log on to GoArmy.com through their entire career, whether that's three or 30 years of service. While it is the Department's intent to transition to an all-digital system for processing individuals into the military in the next five years, we need to take advantage of strategies and technology that are currently available in order to compete and retain the talent that we need in the Army.
SOLDIER FOR LIFE
Research shows that a lack of knowledge and understanding of the military, and the Army in particular, contributes to low propensity among youth. Lack of a personal connection to someone who has served also means that misperceptions and misinformation about military service is often unchallenged by this population--they believe what they see in the media and hear from others.
Common misconceptions by young people and influencers such as their parents, teachers, and coaches are that serving in the military will result in physical and mental damage; that everyone in the Army is an infantry Soldier; that you can't go to college or get advanced degrees while serving; and that the Army is an option of last resort.
To break these myths, we have to get our audience of non-propensed youth to hear and see realistic examples of military service. We cannot do this through marketing alone, which is why the Soldier for Life program is important. Soldiers and veterans sharing their experiences can dispel misconceptions and provide Americans a better understanding of service. Today, 7 out of 10 people in the United States think that the general public does not understand the problems faced by the military. After 15 years of continuous conflict, we have the largest population of combat veterans since the Vietnam War. Many of these individuals have or will be transitioning out of the Army, and we must ensure that they not only share their stories and sacrifice, but that they continue to represent the Army when they return to their communities across America.
Soldiers live by the Army values of Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. These values are taught and modeled at every level of our organization and they guide our decisions, behavior, priorities and missions. Soldiers do not leave behind their values and skills when they take off their uniforms for the last time and transition to civilian life. We want the pride that our people feel in serving to motivate the next generation to be part of something bigger.
It is clear that if we want to ensure we recruit the most qualified men and women for the Force of the Future, we need to take a different approach to recruiting. There are countless young people who would be great Soldiers, but they have not considered the Army, perhaps because they have misconceptions about Army service or do not know anyone who has been in the military. We must find new ways to reach these individuals and provide them the information they need to make an informed decision about service in the Army.
I am honored to serve our great Army and exceedingly proud of the Soldiers, Civilians, and Families who voluntarily serve our country. I remain steadfastly committed to providing each of them the opportunities, support, and care befitting their selfless service.
Debra S. Wada was appointed to the position of Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs on October 2014. She previously served as a Professional Staff Member on the U.S. House of Representatives' Armed Services Committee, holding positions as the lead staff member and Deputy Staff Director for the Committee.
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