Training recruiters: the war against terrorism has reshaped the Army in many ways, including the ways in which the service recruits new Soldiers. The U.S. Army Recruiting and Retention School at Fort Jackson, S.C., is where today's recruiters learn the tools and techniques of their vital mission

Soldiers Magazine, Nov, 2007 by Larry Lane

WHEN Col. James Comish became commandant of the Recruiting and Retention School nearly two years ago, he said he wanted to take the curriculum in "a new direction, rather than toward death by PowerPoint presentations and lectures." He also said he wanted to add more "experience-based" training with more hands-on learning.

"We try to give our students an experience-based learning environment so that when they walk out of here they already know how to be recruiters and are confident in their skills and competent in their tasks," Col. Comish said.

Part of that experiential training includes a mock recruiting station, fully equipped to resemble the stations the recruiters will eventually occupy. Recruiters create files on prospects, conduct phone interviews and analyze the area served by their stations. Some of this training is with real prospects enlisting from the communities near Fort Jackson.

"We also have recruiter trainees do face-to-face prospecting, where they actually go out in the community," Col. Comish said.

Instructors accompany the future recruiters to provide assistance and oversight where needed, and to gather data for after-action reviews on each prospective recruiter's approaches and techniques.

Col. Cornish said recruiters returning for advanced training compliment the cadre on the new methods of qualifying the new recruiters, wishing they had had a similar learning experience. "We're sending out much more qualified recruiters," he said.

"Most of them have been on deployments, which helps them explain to prospective recruits what they may experience during their service. Those are the kind of questions that parents and other influencers will ask," Col. Comish said. Prospects should be told they can expect to deploy and go to war, he added, and that their basic combat training will prepare them for that eventuality.

Col. Comish added that the school and recruiting duty help polish and refine an NCO's skills, providing a recruiter with a higher set of communication skills and developing the NCO into an adaptive leader for the Army.

[ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED]

"We see ourselves as a premier leadership-training facility and we want our recruiters to be adaptive leaders. Soldiers gain a lot of skills in the schoolhouse--how to work with the media, how to do a presentation for an audience, how to interact with politicians and other VIPs in the community, and how to relate to moms and dads. This is a great place for recruiters to refine their skills."

While the bulk of recruiters are selected by the Department of the Army, Col. Comish noted that today's recruiters are generally excited about the mission. Patriotism, he said, is one of the main reasons people join the Army. It's also a major reason recruiters strive for success in supporting an Army at war.

"They're thrilled about being recruiters, because they know how important the mission is, and they want to get out there and do the best job possible," he said.

New Tools in the Kit

While students in the Recruiting and Retention School learn their mission and improve their knowledge base, they also acquire a new set of analytical tools they will eventually use in their future areas of responsibility. These tools will help them determine where, when and how they can be most successful, said Command Sgt. Maj. Jack Peters, the school's command sergeant major.

"Knowing cyclical events, you can determine trends and do trend analysis," he said.

For example, a recruiter can study historical data to select what day of the month he should provide a specific briefing for a certain high school, to target a grade level where students are historically interested in enlisting in the Army.

"It allows you to be proactive in your recruiting plan and allows you to do an analysis of how you can improve your operation. It's not about going up to a recruiter and saying 'get me so many appointments,'" Command Sgt. Maj. Peters said, referring to past practices. Recruiters are trained to develop a plan based on information drawn from analysis, a more productive method of achieving their recruiting goals.

"The Army Interview" is another new tool recruiters use to help future Soldiers determine what they may want from an Army enlistment.

"The interview is more of a counseling program to meet the needs of the prospective recruit. It's a more personal, individualized approach," Command Sgt. Maj. Peters said.

The interview has 12 components, which include identifying or establishing the prospect's goals and analyzing and comparing available alternatives.

"We're about finding future Soldiers who can become part of the total Army organization and its total Army values--the intrinsic beliefs about who we are and what we do," Command Sgt. Maj. Peters said. "We want to engender in Soldiers a lifelong commitment that is deep and rich in tradition. We look at their goals, identify and compare their future desires, then engender a commitment to become a part of a much bigger organization. This organization is about a way of life for the long term."