The Army is releasing a new tape to hand out to soldiers helping them enlist, three sources with direct knowledge of the plans told Military.com.
When the medal will be awarded is still unknown. Army officials and recruiters interviewed by Military.com said there was no silver bullet compared to the service's goal of recruiting 60,000 recruits while 15,000 active-duty soldiers were imprisoned last year. The Army National Guard has more serious problems.
Although last year's target was not reached, the military has upped its target this year, setting a goal of hiring 65,000 new full-time soldiers as senior leadership tries to come up with new strategies to increase that number.
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At present, the department does not have a simple answer on how to change the results and attract new employees. The upcoming medal is part of a broader initiative by current soldiers to "tell the history of the armed forces," a phrase often repeated by top leaders to show the positive aspects of current standards passed down to friends and family. Referral of applicants to employment agencies.
The military emphasized streaming advertising to reach younger audiences. The service spent at least $104 million on advertising last year, half of which was on digital ads on platforms like YouTube, Hulu and Peacock, and audio streaming like Spotify, according to the service's internal data verified by Military. .com. In the same year, nearly $25 million was spent on online searches such as Google Ads. Traditional television, including Adult Prime, A&E and BET, received $16.6 million in ads. The military spent just over $8 million on social media.
In March, the Army will launch a new ad campaign that will bring back the familiar "be everything" slogan, but the new ad will drop the old link that has been heard in ads since the 1990s. won't hold them back in life - which you can serve for short periods of time and enjoy perks like a soldier's bill and plush housing. Credit or career for life.
In an interview with Military.com, Colonel John Horning, director of marketing strategy for the Army's Corporate Marketing Office, said, “Serving in the military is not a limitation. It does not distract you from your hopes, dreams and plans. » . . “[Service] can give a little boost to the hopes, dreams, and plans of many people. As soon as they got out, they got out. But you know, if it's just one word, it's not exactly a long development to get there - consider an option and then what to consider in your career options.
For Army leaders, the overall plan is to deliver a broad message about an inclusive industry that can reach as many Americans as possible.
“We need to re-tell the history of the military to ensure we are the first choice for Americans who want to serve their country,” Secretary of the Army Kristin Wormuth said in a statement to the Army last year. “We need to reach Americans of every background, talent and region and give them more reasons to join and stay in our amazing army. My goal is to help all Americans see themselves in what the military has to offer.
But this message, aired in February and repeated several times over the past year, does not appear to have substantially solved the recruitment problem.
Recruitment problems are the culmination of a number of issues out of the military's control, including an obesity crisis and poor academic performance among young Americans that keeps them from working. A senior military official told military.com that part of the problem is that America is in a period of pseudo-peace where there is no war to trigger a call to arms.
Army planners are trying to do everything they can, such as speeding up preschool for slightly overweight people or signing up for SAT-style entrance exams. It was promising at first, and senior officials, including Senior Army Officer General James McConville, pushed the program publicly and behind the scenes.
The Army also introduced several new recruitment incentives, including the ability for recruits to choose their first duty station within the borders, with Alaska being the first choice. In addition, job placement bonuses reached $50,000 last year. However, it's unclear whether these incentives will bring talent to recruiters or make the deal easier for those already interested in signing up.
The department has yet to find a way to attract new employees. And the army command, which bears this responsibility, is in no hurry with specific plans. This command received new leadership when Major General Johnny Davis took charge of 10,000 recruits in 1,400 positions.
“Last year was difficult and we expect this year to be just as difficult, but the Army understands the importance of our mission and fully supports the recruitment mandate,” Davis said in a statement to Military.com. “You are all human and determined to give our team the support they need to carry out this mission. I recently sent out an email survey to all command staff. I received over 44,000 responses from soldiers, employers and civilians. With this information, I am focused. Management and training, we listen to our recruiters because they are people.
All services face significant demographic hurdles that the military says will make their recruiting efforts much more difficult. The Coast Guard has been fighting for years and is averaging 20% of targets as of 2019.
However, most other services are relatively better. The Air Force has been able to meet its hiring targets since last year's new awards. The Space Force was so small in its early days that it did not face a major recruitment problem as its leadership gradually expanded. The Marine Corps did not meet its recruiting target after the Battle of the Mountain, but significantly less than other services.
Like the Army, the Navy relies on current members to recruit new ones and launched the program in late December. The Every Seaman is a Recruiter initiative encourages seafarers to provide contact details for friends and family members they think would be "a good candidate for our fleet".
For each successful contract, the sailors were promised a "flagship letter" - not a medal, but an admiral's letter. Letters are still valuable for promotions, and sailors have a cap of two.
The program coincided with a change in the views of naval leaders on recruiting. Head of Service, adm. Michael Gilday told an audience at the Surface Marine Association's annual conference in Arlington, Virginia that he wanted to encourage Navy recruits to join by convincing others in their lives first.
Gilday explained that the Navy wants to go back to television and other old media for advertising because there are “moms and dads, uncles, aunts, grandmas, teachers, school administrators” — people who inspire young people to perform. They still exist. your content
“They are all serving or have served,” Gilday said, mostly to the elderly and retirees. “Share this enthusiasm with others – it might be more helpful than you think.”
C.M. Dave Benham, a spokesman for the Naval Recruiting Command, said the Navy is using programs such as the Seaman Recruitment Initiative to increase demand for the fleet. In the past year, other initiatives were announced aimed at removing the obstacles that people face on their way.
The Army's historically high bonuses, now broader enlistment ages and lower entrance exam requirements are all part of efforts to remain competitive with other services, Benham explained.
In a survey conducted by the service among 17-24-year-olds - a key group in recruiting - "one of the things that comes out very clearly is what this generation values and ... but role models, diversity, fairness and inclusiveness" - Benham. said. "This is in line with the Army's core values and our desire to provide the widest possible network."
Efforts to provide sophisticated services for the Gen Z market are increasingly limited to mainstream platforms. TikTok has between 50 and 80 million active users in the US, making it Gen Z's number one source of news and entertainment.
However, President Joe Biden has banned the popular Chinese app from government phones due to cybersecurity concerns. In recent weeks, nearly two dozen states have followed suit and banned TikTok on government devices. Some senior military officials who spoke to Military.com about the issue understand the threat of Chinese espionage, but fear the ban could seriously affect the service's relationship with young Americans.
Officials have publicly said they will find other ways to use them.
“This type of content is very popular. There are other platforms like YouTube and Instagram that can create short videos, Horning said. “It’s a combination of how we got here.”
-- Thomas Novelli contributed to this report.
-- Steve Beynon can be contacted at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.
-- Konstantin Toropin can be contacted by e-mail Konstantin.toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin.
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