The U.S. Army is using incentives to attract new recruits as it tries to recover from its worst recruiting year in decades, largely attributed to wokeness by Republicans.
Agnes Gereben Schaefer, the Army’s assistant secretary overseeing manpower and reserve affairs launched the “Recruiter Production Incentive – Assignment Incentive Pay” program.
One of the incentives offered by the Army is a bonus program for recruiters, with the possibility of earning up to $4,500 per quarter if they surpass their baseline enlistment requirement.
Additionally, a pilot program is available for young enlisted soldiers in the three lower ranks, allowing them to receive a promotion if they refer someone who enrolls and completes basic training.
Last year, the Army fell short of its 60,000 recruitment goal by 15,000 soldiers or 25%. This year, the goal is to bring in 65,000 recruits, a 20,000 increase from the previous year.
Surveys were conducted over the past four months to help understand why young people are not considering the Army as a career option. The surveys showed that young people do not see the Army as a safe place or a good career path. Many believe they would have to put their lives and careers on hold if they enlisted. Concerns about discrimination against women and minorities were seen as a bigger issue, along with a general distrust of the military. Many believe the military has become more ideological and political in recent years.
The Army emphasized that only 5% of the respondents listed “wokeness” as an issue, compared to 13% who believed that women and minorities would face discrimination. Army leaders said the surveys provide valuable insight into how the Army can better explain its benefits and opportunities to potential recruits.
Those surveys were conducted over four months last spring and summer. They involved about 600 respondents, ages 16 to 28, per month. The Army discussed the general findings with The Associated Press but declined to provide detailed methodology, saying the surveys were done by a private research contractor and that licensing agreements limited the public release of some data collection details.
Concerns about discrimination against women and minorities were cited as a bigger issue than “wokeness,” which is a term originally describing attentiveness to issues of racial and social justice. But has been used in a derogatory sense by some to imply overreactions.
Fear of death, worries about post-traumatic stress disorder, and leaving friends and family were the top three reasons cited by young people for not enlisting.
Jim Banks, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Military Personnel pledged to expose and dismantle President Joe Biden’s administration’s “woke agenda that is driving down military recruitment and retention”.
“If we want to maintain the strongest military in the world, we must ensure our troops have the resources they need for success on the battlefield and supporting their families, not for fighting the Left’s culture wars.”
Banks said.
