Army boosts recruit incentives

To attract more recruits, requirements also are being loosened.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tyka Pettey wanted to go to a university. And she needed a car.

The Army is making both possible for the 21-year-old. She joined the Army Reserve in late July and leaves in about a week for boot camp to start her new life as a soldier. She’s getting a $20,000 signing bonus and is eligible for college money.

“You’re really taking a major step from your civilian life ... but I just decided to go for it,” said Pettey, of Philadelphia.

The incentives could get even better for recruits under an Army proposal that military leaders say is needed to fill wartime ranks.

Under the plan, men and women who enlist could pick from a “buffet” of incentives, including up to $45,000 tax-free that they accrue during their career to help buy a home or build a business. Other options would include money for college and to pay off student loans.

An Associated Press review of the increasingly aggressive recruiting offerings found the Army is not only dangling more sign-up rewards — it’s loosening rules on age and weight limits, education and drug and criminal records.

It’s all part of an Army effort to fill its ranks even as the percentage of young people who say they plan to join the military has hit a historic low — 16 percent by the Pentagon’s own surveying — in the fifth year of the Iraq war.

In June, the Army failed to meet its recruitment target for the second month in a row, although it apparently met its goal to recruit 9,750 troops in July and is on target for 80,000 for the year that ends Sept. 30. The service spent nearly $1 billion last year on recruiting bonuses and ads.

More recruiters

As part of a push to make its 2007 goals, the Army is boosting the size of its 8,000-member recruiting force with 1,000 to 2,000 assistants — including some former recruiters.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants to increase the size of the active-duty Army by 65,000 to a total of 547,000 within five years. In part, that’s to ease the wartime strain on the Army, which is the largest branch of the military.

“Recruiting next year and beyond will remain challenging and will ... require additional innovative approaches,” said Lt. Col. Michael Rochelle, the Pentagon’s deputy chief of staff for personnel. He asked lawmakers last week on Capitol Hill for money to pay for the new program.

Rochelle described the latest offering as an updated version of the Army’s college fund, a popular program started in 1982 to help soldiers pay for college.

The Army would like to start a pilot program targeting 500 people who might not otherwise consider joining. In the pilot, the takers who complete a four-year enlistment would be eligible for up to $30,000 in incentives — including money for a home loan or business. Eventually, the Army wants to offer up to $45,000.

Factors

Beyond the Iraq war, the military says other factors have affected its ability to recruit. More high school graduates are going to college, and the economy is strong, providing lots of civilian jobs. At the same time, only three of 10 people between 17 and 24 fully meet the military’s standards.

Less obvious factors have also decreased the recruitment pool. They include higher obesity rates, more people diagnosed with mental health conditions such as attention-deficit disorder, more criminal citations due to the increase of the drinking age from 18 to 21.

“The numbers of people who meet our enlistment standards is astonishingly low,” said Michael Dominguez, principal deputy undersecretary of defense.

Among the changes that have helped attract more recruits:

UIncreasing to $20,000 the bonus for troops who join by Sept. 30 and leave for boot camp within a month.

URaising the enlistment age to 42.

UAllowing recruits to come in with nonoffensive tattoos on their hands and neck.

UOffering a $2,000 bonus to Army soldiers who refer a new recruit.

UEnlisting recruits who don’t meet weight standards and must trim down their first year.

UAdvertising that targets potential recruits’ parents.

UIncreasing the number of recruits with general education diplomas rather than regular high school diplomas.

UCreating a more pleasant boot camp environment.

USending “gung-ho” soldiers fresh from boot camp or war zones back to their hometowns to visit old friends and schoolmates to promote the Army.

UIncreasing to more than 15 percent the number of Army and Army Reserve troops given waivers for medical and moral reasons or for positive drug and alcohol screen tests.

Pettey said she was fully aware of the risks when she signed up and thought about it for more than a year before doing so. Once she made the decision, she said she was impressed with how much the recruiters in Upper Darby, Pa., were able to help her.

“They really make sure you get what you want,” said Pettey, who signed up to serve six years in the Army Reserve.

The Army spent $353 million last year on enlistment bonuses, $583 million on recruiting and advertising and $700 million on pay and benefits for recruiters, according to the Congressional Budget Office.