Diversity in Army Recruiting

Maggie Shartel
Gonzaga University
COML506 Fall(B) 2011

• Background

• Key Metrics for Seattle Battalion

• New Army Ad Campaign and illustrations of diversity

• Closing

• References

Each year the United States Army Recruiting Command
has a numeric goal of the number of Recruits they hope
to access to the Army. (http://www.usarec.army.mil/)

The Army has the numbers planned of: job in the Army,
gender of the applicant, amount of education (based
upon test scores) the applicant has, and specific
guidelines to bring in diverse applicants.

Seattle Recruiting Battalion has missions specifically
geared to Native American, African American, Asian
Pacific Islander and Hispanic recruiting Numbers.

 “The United States Army is a vast organization with a global
presence. One of its central sources of strength is the diversity of
its workforce, which encompasses 1.5 million personnel across the
active, reserve, civilian and contractor components.“ (Reyes, 2006).

 For the purposes of this presentation, we will focus on recruiting
mechanisms that can increase diversity in the future soldier and
new enlistee populations.

 “Diversity assumes that differences can add organizational value
and enhance mission accomplishment, while EO does not assume
that improved organizational effectiveness is a primary outcome.
Diversity also focuses on the organization and its people, while
EO focuses on individuals and groups of people.” (Reyes, 2006)

Each month a recruiting battalion compiles vast
amounts of data onto a one page round-up called
Key Metrics.
This is basically a marketing document that shows
three year averages, where the battalion stands in
overall mission accomplishment—including
maintaining their future soldier pool, as well as
numerical data on diversity and special mission
recruiting.
On the next page is the overall round-up from
Seattle Battalion for August, 2011, just before the
end of the fiscal year.

This document is from a monthly report completed in August,
2011. It shows numerical data on where the battalion stands in
relationship to its overall recruiting missions—and budgetary
constraints.

Why do we need to look at diversity recruiting?

Hint: it‟s not just because the mission dictates.

Seattle Battalion has gone down in
Market Share. That is recruits per
The available potential applicants the Army
Gets over Marines, Air Force, etc.

In the above section of Key metrics,
We see that the P:P ratio is doing ok
In most areas, except Native American Population

Local and Higher level funds
Vs. number of leads based on those funds.

Symbol of Strength: Opportunity

What do we see?
1) Multi-cultural Group of soldiers fades into the American Flag.

2) Members of a team (multi-cultural) “ticket to anywhere in the world”
slogan.

3) SSG Salvatore Giunta—first living recipient of MOH since Vietnam,
fades into an African American Captain.

Absent in this video showing multi-culturalism as “Opportunity” :
Native American Soldiers, Asian/Pacific Islanders.

“As the nation‟s military academies try to recruit more minorities,
they aren‟t getting much help from members of Congress from
urban districts with large members of blacks, Hispanics, and
Asians.” (Witte, 2009)

Does it matter in a “all-volunteer” force?

“In the best of all possible worlds, ethnic representation
Within the Army should reflect at least roughly the
ethnic proportions of the general population.” (Matthews
and Pavri, 1999)

What do we see?
1) Uniform—not much in the way of using specific ethnicities.

2) Soldiers mostly in combat situations.

3) No women.

“All statutory combat exclusions affecting women have been repealed. By policy,
women are permitted to compete for assignments in aircraft, including those
Engaged in combat missions…the main remaining policy bar to combat
participation By women lies in the directive that they not be assigned „ to units
engaged in Direct combat on the ground.‟”(Matthews and Pavri, 1999)

We know this statement above is old, and that women are engaged in combat.

However, they are not included in the „education‟ symbol of strength campaign,
Which shows the education of combat (adventure) for all intents and purposes.

What do we see?
1) Doctor is Hispanic? Entering into multi-cultural again.

2) A female soldier interacting with the population in full battle-
rattle. Local nationals from the combat zones—and women there
too, as well as more diverse soldiers

3) Slogan: “It‟s a chance to change the future.”

Arguably, of the three available (on youtube) ads for the new
campaign, the one titled leadership is the most diverse, not only on the
basis of ethnicity, but also gender and potential careers in the Army.

Why are Education and Opportunity so lightly representative of
diversity?

This goes back to difficulty in recruiting in general: very few people in
the general population are qualified to enlist or get a commission in
the military because of such restrictions as “education (high school
diploma or General Education Degree), aptitude (Armed Forces
Qualification Test Score) , weight, number of dependents, convictions,
and drug related offenses.” (Asch, Buck, Klerman, Kleykamp and
Loughran, 2009)

While the local battalion has numerous print ad sources for local events that
Are geared to the minorities they must recruit in order to meet mission, the
Recruiters are having a difficult time connecting to diverse applicants.

Some of this may just not speaking the language (not the actual language of
The minority recruit—the language of the target demographic of Generation Y)

Some of this may also be that the ad campaigns themselves do not promote
Diversity on the level the Army wishes to recruit. Not one of the new ads
Showed a Native American soldier.

Desai, A., & Roberts, M. (2008, July/Aug). Youth of Color Resist Military Recruiting. Dollars and Sense, p.
7.

Gorman, L., & Thomas, G. W. (1993). General Intellectual Achievement, Enlistment Intentions and Racial
Representativeness in the US Military. Armed Forces and Society, 19(4), 611-624.

Lind, W. (2011, April). Men Overboard. The American Conservative, p. 22.
Matthews, L. J., & Pavri, T. (1999). Population Diversity and the US Military. Carslise, PA: US Aarmy War
College, Stratigic Studies Insitute.

Reyes (Lt.Col.), A. D. (2006). Strategic Options for Handeling Diversity in the US Army. Washington D.C.:
Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

Smith, R. J., & Ramsey, C. E. (n.d.). Attitudes of Japanese High School Students Toward the Military.
Public Opinion Quarterly, pp. 248-254.

Watson (Ph.D), J. R. (2010, March/April). Language and Culture Training: Separate Paths? Military
Review, pp. 92-97.

Witte, B. (2009, December 14). Lawmakers from Minority Districts Appointing Few to Service
Acadamies. Community College Week, p. 4.

Diversity in Army Recruiting

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