War hampers Army recruiting

[MORTARDUDE]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05068/468316.stm

War hampers Army recruiting
Women, blacks top decline; incentives being phased in
Wednesday, March 09, 2005

By Jack Kelly, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



A 6 percent shortfall in Army enlistments so far this fiscal year seems to be driven by a substantial decline in women and black recruits since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began.

The Army had been slightly exceeding its recruiting targets until last month, when it fell 1,823 below its February goal of 7,050. The last time the active Army failed to meet a monthly goal was in May 2000. The Army Reserve missed its numbers for January and February.

The war in Iraq and an improving economy have made the recruiting mission "very difficult," said S. Douglas Smith, public affairs officer for the Army's Recruiting Command. But missing the recruiting goal for one month doesn't mean the Army will be short by year's end, he said.

Congress has approved higher enlistment bonuses, more money for college and more recruiters. As these resources come "on line," recruiting will improve, Smith predicted.

An Army Image Study, completed last August, said fear of combat has become the principal reason young people give for not wanting to join the military. More than 1,500 service members have been killed in Iraq, 33 of them women.

More African Americans than members of other ethnic groups identified having to fight for a cause they don't support as a reason for not joining the military. But the study also indicated a higher proportion of blacks and Hispanics than whites are interested in military service, and that more blacks than whites or Hispanics are interested in obtaining commissions as military officers.

Money for college was the principal reason young people gave for enlisting in the military, followed by "duty."

In fiscal year 2000, 23.5 percent of Army recruits were African American; 22.1 percent were female. So far this year, only 14.5 percent are black, just 17.1 percent are female. African Americans make up 12.3 percent of the U.S. population, according to the 2000 census.

The Marine Corps also shows a sharp decline in enlistments by African Americans, but Maj. David Griesmer said this is due mostly to a change in how the data are reported.

The proportion of blacks enlisting in the Marines fell from 11.88 percent in 2001 to 6.38 percent in fiscal year 2004. But recruits now have the option of declining to answer questions about race and ethnicity, an option exercised by nearly one-third of Marine recruits last year, up from less than one percent in 2001.

There has been a slight decline in black recruits and a slight increase in Hispanic recruits since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. Caucasian recruitment has been holding steady, said Maj. Dave Griesmer, public affairs officer for the Marine Corps' Recruiting Command.

The proportion of females enlisting in the Marine Corps has remained constant at about 6 percent, he said. So far the Marines are ahead of their recruiting goal for 2005, and continue to lead all services in recruit quality, Griesmer said.

The Air Force and Navy are meeting their recruiting goals, and recruit quality is high.

The military measures recruit quality by the proportion of high school graduates and the proportion of recruits who score in the upper half of the military's version of an IQ test.

So far this year 96.2 percent of Marine recruits have high school diplomas, a little less than the 97.7 percent for last year. Just above 70 percent scored in the upper half of the Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery, down slightly from 71.6 percent for 2004.

So far this year 90.6 percent of recruits for the active Army and 91.7 percent of recruits for the Army Reserve have high school diplomas, down slightly from 92.5 percent and 92.4 percent, respectively, for 2004.

A little more than 70 percent of civilians in the "youth cohort" from which recruits are drawn are high school graduates.

Although the Army is attracting proportionately fewer high school graduates than the Marines are, it's getting a somewhat higher percentage of recruits who score well on IQ tests. Nearly 75 percent of recruits for the active Army and 72.7 percent of volunteers for the Army Reserve scored in the upper half of the military aptitude tests this year, slightly higher numbers than for last year.

Proportionately fewer young people are enlisting for the benefits and more are enlisting to serve their country, and that's not a bad thing, said James Carafano, a retired Army colonel who analyzes defense issues for the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C.