Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Preston Jarrett | 200305-N-FC991-0048 COLUMBUS, Ohio (March 5, 2020) Navy Talent Acquisition Group Ohio...... read more read more
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MILLINGTON, Tenn. — Eighteen-year-old Dennis Fox did not have big dreams of joining the Navy. But, as he sat in the lunch room listening to a recruiter speak, he felt something shift. With big blue eyes and purple hair, he may have seemed like an unlikely recruit. A few days later he made history as one of the earliest Future Sailors to ever sign a contract during a Navy SWARM, which brought top recruiters from across the United States to Columbus, Ohio, March 1-7.
The goal of SWARM is to promote the Navy's mission and strengthen ties with local communities throughout the recruiting area. It is a strategy Navy recruiting has been using for the last year, and it is a strategy that connected Fox with a previously unimagined future.
“I was looking for something that would help me financially, while also allowing me to travel,” said Fox, a senior at Preble Shawnee High School in Camden, Ohio. “Toward the end of the presentation I knew the Navy was the right fit for me and would give me an opportunity to build my future.”
Fox wasn't the only one who decided to join during the Columbus SWARM. Samantha Everhart, whose father and grandfather both served in the Navy, also decided the Navy was the right choice for her.
Everhart, a music lover and a senior at Licking Heights High School in Pataskala, Ohio, was planning to go to technical college to learn instrument repair, but changed her mind after hearing a recruiter talk about the Navy.
“My dad was in the Navy,” said Everhart. “Once he heard I was interested he said, 'I'm picking you up Tuesday after school.' Then he drove me straight to the recruiting station.”
Both Fox and Everhart took their official oath March 5 at Navy Talent Acquisition Group Ohio River Valley in Columbus.
Fox enlisted to become a mineman and Everhart will come in as an information systems technician.
“I have been doing this for four years and it doesn't get old,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Tyler Manning, who recruits out of Dayton, Ohio. “The Navy sells itself. I am helping to change lives; that's the joy in the job.”
Fox said one of the biggest selling points was that Manning didn't talk bad about the other services or try to discourage him from seeking opportunities in those services.
“I just share my experiences with the students,” said Manning. “With the technology available, google, things like that, it is important to be honest and transparent. All of the information is online, so if I am not truthful, it won't be hard for these students to find that out.”
SWARM Columbus was one of the most successful SWARMs Navy recruiting has done, setting record numbers in presentations, surveys, interviews, appointments and contracts during the actual SWARM. Part of that is due to a seven-person E-Talent team focused on following up with every lead in real time.
E-Talent is a team that follows up all leads coming in from the field and social networking sites. As leads come in through surveys, apps, and other online methods, the E-Talent lead filters them, and the team contacts potential Sailors immediately.
“The caliber of leadership in this area contributes to the results we are seeing,” said Senior Chief Petty Officer Justin Noble, assistant to the national chief recruiter and a SWARM leader. “They provide all of the tools and training necessary to make sure every sailor is successful. It speaks volumes that we brought the best recruiters from all over the nation, and the Ohio recruiters are still leading the way.”
Cmdr. Robert Moran, commanding officer, NTAG Ohio River Valley, said he had little doubt about how his team would perform during the SWARM.
“It was all about preparation,” said Moran. “We did our best on the front side and it is paying off. I drew a line in the sand that I knew was achievable, and my team sailed past that line. But SWARM or no SWARM, this is what my team does.”
The team began preparing months in advance, deciding which schools to visit, which recruiters to send where, and what areas to concentrate on. Lt. Cmdr. Morgan Didjurgis, the operations officer for NTAG Columbus, along with the E-Leads director, the Talent Acquisition Operations Command Columbus officer in charge, and other key entities throughout the command, not only had to make those crucial decisions, but they coordinated travel for the local and national recruiters throughout the area of operation. In order to orchestrate an event of this caliber, support is needed from the entire chain of command, said Didjurgis.
“If the entire NTAG sees the event as positive and worth spending their time to prepare for, it is far more likely to go well,” added Didjurgis.
Both Fox and Everhart, who will ship to boot camp in September, said they are nervous and excited.
“Overall, this is a great opportunity,” said Fox. “I am honored.”
However, he knows the purple hair will have to go.
Navy Recruiting Command consists of a command headquarters, two Navy Recruiting Regions, 15 Navy Recruiting Districts and 11 Navy Talent Acquisition Groups that serve more than 815 recruiting stations across the world. Their combined goal is to attract the highest quality candidates to assure the ongoing success of America’s Navy.
For more news from Commander, Navy Recruiting Command, go to http://www.cnrc.navy.mil. Follow Navy Recruiting on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NavyRecruiting), Twitter (@USNRecruiter) and Instagram (@USNRecruiter).
| Date Taken: | 03.10.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 03.10.2020 13:44 |
| Story ID: | 364889 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 149 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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