Revitalizing Military Recruitment Without Restoring the Draft
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Princeton University Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs Undergraduate Program Revitalizing Military Recruitment Without Restoring the Draft Bridget Bartlett Lingzi Gui Samuel Gulland Josh Grehan Allison Kuncik Sar Medoff Christine Prifti Sarah Schiff Gustavo Silva Cano May 12, 2009 WWS 402g – Spring 2009 Julian Zelizer, Director Robert Barnett and Melissa Lerner, Senior Commissioners TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................... 1 RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................... 3 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 4 RECRUITING PROCEDURE ..................................................................................................... 6 RECRUITER OPERATIONS .............................................................................................................. 7 FEMALE RECRUITERS ................................................................................................................... 8 ETHICS VIOLATIONS IN HIGH SCHOOLS ....................................................................................... 9 SEXUAL HARASSMENT ............................................................................................................... 10 ADVERTISING ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................ 11 RECRUITER INCENTIVES ............................................................................................................. 12 OUTREACH TO POTENTIAL RECRUITS ............................................................................ 13 TECHNOLOGY AND RECRUITING ................................................................................................ 13 RECRUITING WOMEN ................................................................................................................. 15 PRIORITIZING DIVERSITY ........................................................................................................... 15 TANGIBLE BENEFITS .............................................................................................................. 16 THE ENLISTMENT BONUS ........................................................................................................... 16 THE ARMY COLLEGE FUND ........................................................................................................ 17 RESERVE OFFICERS’ TRAINING CORPS ...................................................................................... 18 WEST POINT PREPARATORY PROGRAM ..................................................................................... 19 HOUSING AND FAMILY POLICY .................................................................................................. 20 MATERNITY LEAVE AND DEPLOYMENT DEFERMENTS .............................................................. 21 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 22 IMPROVING RECRUITER SELECTION AND MISSION ALLOCATION by Samuel Gulland ......................................................................................................................... 24 RECRUITING WOMEN FOR THE ARMY by Allison Kuncik ........................................................................................................................... 51 ETHICAL MILITARY RECRUITING IN SCHOOLS by Bridget Bartlett .......................................................................................................................... 78 IMPROVING THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN ARMY RECRUITMENT by Lingzi Gui ................................................................................................................................ 105 FACT-BASED RECRUITMENT ADVERTISING IN TODAY’S MARKET by Christine Prifti ....................................................................................................................... 136 REDUCING RACIAL DISPARITIES IN THE ARMY’S OFFICER CORPS by Josh Grehan ............................................................................................................................ 169 RETHINKING PRIORITIES IN THE ARMY’S RECRUITMENT BUDGET by Gustavo Silva Cano ................................................................................................................. 190 GROWING AND MAINTAINING THE RESERVE OFFICERS’ TRAINING CORPS by Sar Medoff ............................................................................................................................... 217 IMPROVING AND ENSURING QUALITY HOUSING FOR SOLDIERS AND FAMILIES by Sarah Schiff ............................................................................................................................. 238 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In 1973, the advent of the All-Volunteer Force (AVF) under the Nixon administration fundamentally altered the nature of the United States military. The switch from a system of conscription to a force comprised solely of volunteers changed the structure and function of Army operations, transforming successful recruitment into a vital determinant of the Army’s continued success. Since the AVF was established nearly 40 years ago, however, the Army’s recruiting procedure and output have proven susceptible to outside economic and political influences. In the mid-2000s, a robust economy and an unpopular war in Iraq War caused a serious recruiting crisis: the number of volunteers declined sharply, leading to a corresponding decrease in overall recruit quality of the Army’s recruits and an increase in ethics violations committed by recruiters. This challenging recruitment environment raised doubts about the long- term viability of the AVF and revealed underlying flaws in the Army’s recruiting programs. At present, the economic crisis and decreased casualty rate in Iraq have temporarily reversed the Army’s recruiting woes. However, it is crucial that the military and the government take advantage of the opportunity created by this short-term increase in volunteers and recruit quality to address several fundamental inefficiencies in the recruitment process. Reforms implemented by policymakers during this unique moment in the history of the AVF will ensure that the Army remains competitive in the long-term, regardless of economic conditions or foreign policy engagements. Based on the extensive research of its members, this Princeton University Policy Task Force has identified three main aspects of Army recruitment policy that need attention: recruiting procedure, outreach to potential recruits, and tangible benefits offered to enlistees. Specifically, the Task Force proposes recommendations pertaining to these nine policy areas: 1 • Recruiter Operations • Ethical Military Recruiting • Recruiting Technology • Fact-Based Advertising • Racial Diversity in the Officer Corps • Recruiting Women • Enlistment Incentives • Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) • Housing and Family Policy Beyond the role the Army must play in improving its recruiting efforts, there exist important roles for other governmental actors such as Congress and the Department of Defense, in revitalizing Army recruitment. Cooperation between various agencies is necessary to ensure that the fundamental problems with the Army’s recruiting process are fully addressed. In creating this final report, the Task Force emphasizes four core principles. The Army’s recruiting system should work efficiently and effectively, regardless of the status of the domestic economy or the government’s foreign policy. The Army must fill its enlisted ranks without compromising its high standards of recruit quality. In order to ensure this high quality, the Army should cast its net as wide as possible, by attempting to recruit capable and qualified individuals from diverse parts of the American population, including women and racial minorities. For both moral and practical reasons, Army recruiting must adhere to high standards of ethical conduct. With these principles in mind, the Task Force presents the following recommendations for revitalizing military recruitment: 2 RECOMMENDATIONS Recruiting Procedure • Improve recruiter selection by using the Warrior Attributes Inventory assessment results and interviews with veteran recruiters to identify qualified soldiers. • Abandon the “80/20 method” of mission assignment, instead using a social and economic analysis of recruiting districts to assign challenging but achievable missions to recruiting stations. • Increase the number of female recruiters and facilitate interactions between potential female recruits and women in the military. • Improve oversight of recruiter improprieties in public high schools with better data collection and monitoring. • Improve prevention by increasing safeguards and awareness in public high schools. • Strengthen the policies against sexual harassment in recruiting. • Mandate timely, ongoing data about appropriate variables to contribute to regular econometric analysis of advertising effectiveness. • Hire a civilian economist to manage econometric analysis of advertising. • Improve ethical data mining online on GoArmy.com. • Allow the current Recruiter Incentive Pay program to expire and conduct test cell-based experiments to develop a new, more effective one. Outreach