thedrifter
01-18-05, 02:41 PM
January 24, 2005
End-strength boost a boon for Recruiting Command
Corps adding about 275 recruiters to its force
By Gordon Lubold
Times staff writer
The Marine Corps has included a little more breathing room for recruiters in its planned end-strength increase, with about 275 new leathernecks expected to join the force canvassing the nation’s high schools and shopping centers for new recruits.
Included in the end-strength boost of nearly 3,000 troops are 425 allocations for Marine Corps Recruiting Command. About 150 will fill existing shortages in the command, which has been operating with fewer than its maximum number of recruiters for the last few years. The remaining 275 are considered brand-new recruiters who will help the command reach its recruiting goals by allowing it to focus on areas it couldn’t before.
“It’s becoming harder to recruit, so more people on the street will ease the burden of the recruiters already out there,” said Lt. Col. Dawn Harrison, who oversees manpower and personnel issues for Recruiting Command.
Although the additional recruiters will take some of the pressure off the command, it is not yet clear whether they will make a big difference in the workload of the individual recruiter, officials said. With the Corps growing by almost 3,000 Marines, recruiters will have to find more Marines in the first place. The fiscal 2005 contracting requirement is 38,329, up from 35,143 in 2004.
The reinforcements will be used to fill the holes in recruiting areas where it has been difficult for recruiters to trawl regularly. For example, a recruiting substation might get an extra recruiter to work a high school in an area that the substation’s staff wasn’t able to hit regularly.
Although Recruiting Command is short-handed now because of deployments, manpower officials typically give the command about 5 percent more Marines than its table of organization allows. The extra Marines are intended to account for expected openings that come when recruiters are attending school or are still learning the trade. The increase gives Recruiting Command the Marines it needs to be 100-percent manned at any given time.
It’s not yet clear whether all of the new recruiters will arrive this year or if they will join the command over the next three years, Harrison said. The recruiting school at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego is expected to gradually increase the number of students attending the six-week course.
Once they arrive, the new recruiters will be assigned to recruiting districts based on their share of the overall recruiting goal.
Each of the Corps’ six recruiting districts handles between 15 and 18 percent of the mission. For example, the 1st Marine District headquartered in Garden City, N.Y., bears about 17 percent of the goal and therefore would receive a number of recruiters in line with their share of the mission, Harrison said.
Gordon Lubold covers recruiting issues. He can be reached at (703) 750-8639 or glubold@marinecorpstimes.com.
The Drifter's Wife
Ellie
End-strength boost a boon for Recruiting Command
Corps adding about 275 recruiters to its force
By Gordon Lubold
Times staff writer
The Marine Corps has included a little more breathing room for recruiters in its planned end-strength increase, with about 275 new leathernecks expected to join the force canvassing the nation’s high schools and shopping centers for new recruits.
Included in the end-strength boost of nearly 3,000 troops are 425 allocations for Marine Corps Recruiting Command. About 150 will fill existing shortages in the command, which has been operating with fewer than its maximum number of recruiters for the last few years. The remaining 275 are considered brand-new recruiters who will help the command reach its recruiting goals by allowing it to focus on areas it couldn’t before.
“It’s becoming harder to recruit, so more people on the street will ease the burden of the recruiters already out there,” said Lt. Col. Dawn Harrison, who oversees manpower and personnel issues for Recruiting Command.
Although the additional recruiters will take some of the pressure off the command, it is not yet clear whether they will make a big difference in the workload of the individual recruiter, officials said. With the Corps growing by almost 3,000 Marines, recruiters will have to find more Marines in the first place. The fiscal 2005 contracting requirement is 38,329, up from 35,143 in 2004.
The reinforcements will be used to fill the holes in recruiting areas where it has been difficult for recruiters to trawl regularly. For example, a recruiting substation might get an extra recruiter to work a high school in an area that the substation’s staff wasn’t able to hit regularly.
Although Recruiting Command is short-handed now because of deployments, manpower officials typically give the command about 5 percent more Marines than its table of organization allows. The extra Marines are intended to account for expected openings that come when recruiters are attending school or are still learning the trade. The increase gives Recruiting Command the Marines it needs to be 100-percent manned at any given time.
It’s not yet clear whether all of the new recruiters will arrive this year or if they will join the command over the next three years, Harrison said. The recruiting school at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego is expected to gradually increase the number of students attending the six-week course.
Once they arrive, the new recruiters will be assigned to recruiting districts based on their share of the overall recruiting goal.
Each of the Corps’ six recruiting districts handles between 15 and 18 percent of the mission. For example, the 1st Marine District headquartered in Garden City, N.Y., bears about 17 percent of the goal and therefore would receive a number of recruiters in line with their share of the mission, Harrison said.
Gordon Lubold covers recruiting issues. He can be reached at (703) 750-8639 or glubold@marinecorpstimes.com.
The Drifter's Wife
Ellie