Competitive Military Recruiting

The U.S. military's system of duplicative and competitive active duty recruiting contributes to and perpetuates the failure of DOD-wide recruiting efforts. Given the significant changes in the U.S. economy, and the relinquishment of market-share by the military services associated with the military drawdown of the 1990s, the military's present recruiting strategy will no longer fulfill DOD's personnel readiness requirements. The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine recruiting forces have tried in vain to increase individual service market-share and the DOD-wide share within the greater employment market. Single-service efforts ostensibly aimed at increasing service market share predominantly impact upon other military services. Current marketing strategies and operations that are redundant and inefficient often cost the DOD more than the value gained in enlistment production increases. Small unit sales tactics and recruiting procedures encourage additional waste through the duplication of recruiting effort and negative military advertising. This monograph concludes that DOD must modify the flawed recruiting strategy if it is to avoid the continuous erosion of personnel readiness into the future. Development and adoption of DOD-wide marketing processes would enhance recruiting force efficiency through effective distribution. The management of prospecting and telemarketing efforts must be centralized and commercialized to enhance recruiter productivity and minimize redundant or high pressure prospecting techniques. Finally, Parallel and competitive recruiting organizations must consolidate to eliminate internal friction. Military readiness is the bill-payer for the inefficient and internally destructive recruiting systems allowed for under Title 10. The Secretary of Defense must exercise his authority under that same body of law to eliminate the destructive competition resident in the parallel recruiting systems of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.