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FORT KNOX, Ky. -- The chief of staff of the Army has started an "Every Soldier is a Recruiter" initiative to engage the entire Army in the recruiting effort.
The Army is facing one of the most challenging recruiting environments in recent history and is looking to the Special Recruiting Assistance Program as one of the methods to support the Army's end-strength requirements.
About 50 percent of today's youth admit they know little to nothing about military service. The SRAP is helping recruiters increase awareness with additional Soldiers at their stations to tell young people and their influencers about their personal experiences in the Army.
The program kicked off in June and runs through the end of the fiscal year. Throughout this timeframe, operational units are providing U.S. Army Recruiting Command a total of 3,000 Soldiers in various locations throughout the country to support the recruiting effort for 30 days.
Sgt. Casey Sivert and Spcs. Jeremy Garcia and Jessica York are three of the Soldiers selected to be a part of the program.
Sivert joined the Army two years ago at age 29 after serving as a teacher and coach. He was sent to support recruiters in Knoxville, Tennessee, near where he grew up.
"The teaching and coaching background puts you in a lot of opportunities to engage with these types of young men and women," said Sivert, who is now a combat engineer at the 555th Engineer Brigade at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. "It comes natural talking to that age group."
In his first two weeks of SRAP duty, Sivert helped recruiters enlist three new Soldiers into the Army. Overall, he referred 17 young people to Army recruiters. Another one of his referrals currently is going through the process of enlisting.
"The overall experience has been rewarding and challenging," Sivert said. "Any day I can spend opening more doors of opportunity for a young adult is a great day in my book. It's good to come home and see how much change and growth the surrounding communities have accomplished."
Sivert said he hopes to make the Army a career. He may even return as a full-time Army recruiter one day.
Garcia, who has been a Soldier for three years, said he also has had a positive experience with recruiting back home in New Mexico.
"Parts of New Mexico aren't the greatest in terms of job opportunities and some people tend to give up after high school," said Garcia, who is a wheeled-vehicle mechanic at the 59th Quartermaster Company, located in Fort Carson, Colorado.
While supporting the recruiting effort, he said there were many moments he was able to see the impact the Army can make on someone's life.
"I went with a recruiter to see a local future Soldier in a small town called Cuba," Garcia said. "He's the only Asian in the whole town. He and his mother are all each other have. They run the local hotel and barely make ends meet. While we were there he said to his mother, '‘'we've made it, Mom.' It made me realize how fortunate and lucky we are as U.S. citizens. To be a part of a positive impact on someone's life is an irreplaceable act."
Garcia spent some days making phone calls and some days at local events networking.
"Being a part of SRAP was truly a great opportunity, and I am thankful I was able to take part," Garcia said. "I was able to meet new people and develop new friendships within the short amount of time in the program. I was also able to expand my knowledge as far as what recruiting really consists of and how to be a recruiter."
Garcia said he hopes to volunteer to be a recruiter in the future.
While York has enjoyed sharing her experiences in the Army with future Soldiers, she said she doesn't believe she would volunteer for recruiting duty down the road.
"It's been a very big learning experience for me, and I've definitely appreciated the time the (noncommissioned officers) have put in to show me the right way to talk and approach people about military information," York said. "Seeing how difficult it truly is to meet numbers in the office seems extremely stressful. I give the current recruiters major props on successfully making those numbers so many months in a row."
York is a combat engineer with the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. She is originally from Maine and was the first female combat engineer to enlist from that state.
"Working with the future Soldiers is definitely the best part," she said. "I absolutely love telling possible Soldiers about my experiences in the airborne and active-duty community. Showing them basics that will help them for (basic combat training) was wicked fun."
Sivert, Garcia and York have now returned to their home units to continue with their assignments and share their experiences with other teammates who may be selected for SRAP duty.
| Date Taken: | 07.23.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 12.27.2018 11:35 |
| Story ID: | 286009 |
| Location: | FORT KNOX, KENTUCKY, US |
| Web Views: | 45 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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