Gaining the Edge

Young Americans graduating from high schools have various options--among them are attending college, going to a trade school, or entering the workforce. Of the high school class of 2007, 67.2% of the approximately 3 million high school graduates chose to attend college--68.3% of the young women and 66.1% of the young men. Remaining is about one million graduates annually open to exploring other avenues. The United States Air Force (USAF) is just one of those potential employers looking for the best and brightest of the non-college bound sector to recruit into the enlisted corps. My thesis proposes implementing generational cultural training into recruiting efforts at all levels to more efficiently target our audience of qualified high school graduates ages 18-25; saving both money and time while increasing the quality of recruit. Each year the USAF dispatches 1,114 recruiters to canvass high schools, community colleges, and local events for eligible candidates at a cost of $8,741 per recruit (for 2007). With the exception of one year (1999) in the last thirty, the USAF has met its enlisted accession (EA) recruiting goal; proof that its tactics are sound.