October 25, 2011
By Kathleen Welker, Recruiting Command
The recruiters of Army Recruiting Command once again “Provided the Strength” to America’s Army by accomplishing its fiscal year 2011 mission goals with success.
Maj. Gen. David L. Mann announced, “Our success is due to the hard work of the Soldiers, civilians and contractors on our team,” said Mann. “I couldn’t be prouder of them. In an era of persistent conflict, we have achieved not only the designated mission numbers, but the quality of our applicants is very, very high.”
Although the current economy encourages more people to seek an opportunity for service, recruiters still had to screen more than 400,000 applicants to qualify them to become a Soldier. Army recruiters are stationed in 1,444 locations across the country and overseas.
The Department of the Army assigned USAREC the fiscal year 11 mission of enlisting 64,000 active-duty Soldiers and 19,320 Army Reserve Soldiers. These missions reflect the number of entry-level vacancies the Army must fill to reach its Congressionally authorized end strength.
Not only did Army recruiters enlist 64,019 active-duty Soldiers and 19,998 Army Reserve Soldiers, 98.69 percent of those new enlistees were high school diploma graduates. Holding a high school diploma is a traditional indicator of a person’s ability to succeed at Army training.
All Soldiers must have completed high school. Those who do not hold a traditional diploma have completed their high school credentials through the GED program or an alternative accredited program, such as home schooling.
In addition to its enlisted mission, USAREC is also charged with recruiting chaplains, special operations personnel, warrant officers and medical professionals. Recruiters were also successful in achieving more than 103 percent of those missions.
“Our new Soldiers are a reflection of the best of America,” said Mann. “I applaud our teams across the command for their efforts and sacrifices in supporting the Army and our nation.”
Building on its fiscal year 11 success, USAREC entered fiscal year 12 with more than half of its mission already in the future Soldier entry program.
The missions for fiscal year 12 are 58,000 active-duty enlistments and 21,320 Reserve enlistments.