Picatinny Arsenal’s Sgt. Rivera graduates Army Recruiter Course, promoted by Sergeant Major of the Army

PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. - Sgt. Jorge L. Rivera, a Religious Funds Technician with the Religious Support Office at U.S. Army Garrison Picatinny Arsenal, recently completed the U.S. Army Recruiter Course at the service’s Recruiting and Retention School at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

During a Dec. 21 ceremony at the Fort Knox’s Olive Theater, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael R. Weimer joined senior leaders of the U.S. Army Recruiting and Retention College and the U.S. Army Recruiting Command to honor the newest members of the recruiting force.

Of the 200 men and women who participated in the final Army Recruiter Course and Army Station Commander Course graduation of 2023, 193 will join the field as recruiters and seven will become station commanders.

Rivera, and an additional 58 graduates were promoted from sergeant to staff sergeant during the ceremony.

“This to me is a once in a lifetime experience,” Rivera said. “I will cherish the moment that I was promoted by the highest-ranking enlisted Soldier in the U.S. Army.”

Recruiters for the U.S. Army help to secure the success and growth of the overall force as they are responsible for manning both the Active Army and the U.S. Army Reserve, thus ensuring security and readiness for our nation.

“The fact that the Army chose me to become a recruiter because they believed that I was more than qualified for the job says a lot about how much faith they have in me to do the job and help the Army,” Rivera said.

During a Pentagon news conference last year, Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth and Chief of Staff of the Army Randy George detailed sweeping changes in how the Army will identify and recruit talent, including an increase in the number of recruiters.

The moves came after the service failed to meet its recruiting targets for two consecutive fiscal years, which caused its end strength to fall from 485,000 in late 2021 to around 452,000 active-duty Soldiers today. It’s the smallest full-time force since 1940, the year before the U.S. entered World War II.

Rivera was one of hundreds of soldiers who reported to the school on just a few weeks’ notice. Army recruiters must be knowledgeable in Army opportunities and the enlistment process before they are assigned to a recruiting station.

“With all that I learned at the schoolhouse I'm confident in my training, and excited for my new job as an Army Recruiter,” Rivera said. “I am looking forward to helping others accomplish their goals the same way the Army is helping me with my personal goals.

“Our goal as recruiters is not to force people to join, rather we are more like guidance counselors for their future,” Rivera said of the new challenge ahead.

Instead of recruiting young men and women to enlist in the Army, Rivera will be stationed at the U.S. Army Chaplain Recruiting Station Northeast in Columbia, Maryland, where he will aim to find qualified ministers to shepherd Soldiers and their families as a U.S. Army chaplain.

Since 1775, Army chaplains have acted as spiritual counselors who support, motivate, and provide emotional guidance to Soldiers and their families.