Recruiter like Army Times but says it's no recruiting tool
I am a recruiter and have been for two years. In that time I have done my best to accomplish my monthly mission. Like most recruiters I continually try to find ways to depict the Army in a positive light to help me put in those two to three people Recruiting Command demands each month. Recently, I had the idea of buying a subscription to the Army Times and putting it in the office so prospects, applicants and their families can read it. I thought it would reinforce my "sales presentation" and aid me in getting the commitment to enlist. However, what I found out id the Army Times isn't a good sales tool. Don't misunderstand me. I like the job the staff at the Army Times does reporting the "real" Army. The problem is what the real Army has seemed to become. Allow me to give some contrasts. I tell prospects about the great pay and benefits. Benefits such as free medical and dental care for themselves and Tricare for their families. They read in the Army Times about soldiers and former soldiers suffering from Gulf War illnesses and being denied treatment, about poor treatment, poor facilities and how Tricare is broken. I tell them that joining the Army doesn't mean they can't go to college; the Army will pay 75 percent of their tuition for them to attend. They read about back-to-back deployments to places most of them have never heard of, and how the deployments are putting a strain on marriages -- Dad and Mom missing birthdays and anniversaries for years in a row, and let's not forget the all-too-common "soldiers killed." I tell them about the great standard of living in the Army: free housing. The paper reports the sorry state of housing at Fort Hood, Texas, the long waiting lists and that while you wait you can stay in high-crime areas around Fort Hood. This point has a dual contrast. I also boast about Fort Hood being the first digitized division in the Army, home of Force XXI. Does that make sense to anyone? I boast of the upcoming pay raises. They read how the officer corps will be the biggest beneficiaries of the pay raises and how we have a great number of soldiers on public assistance. I have only a year left before returning to the field and I can only say it can't come soon enough. I will continue to search for "mission box" each month and hope I can add to the success I have already enjoyed. To the Army Times, I say keep up the good work. I will continue to subscribe; I'll just keep it at home.
|
||||||||
mailto: info@objector.org Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors
|
||||||||