{"id":41678,"date":"2018-05-10T23:09:05","date_gmt":"2018-05-10T23:09:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/05\/10\/longer-hours-saturdays-at-work-could-be-on-tap-some-some-army-recruiters\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:35:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:35:13","slug":"longer-hours-saturdays-at-work-could-be-on-tap-some-some-army-recruiters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2018\/05\/10\/longer-hours-saturdays-at-work-could-be-on-tap-some-some-army-recruiters\/","title":{"rendered":"Longer hours, Saturdays at work could be on tap for some Army recruiters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Army recruiting is about to head into its busiest time of the year, facing a service-wide shortage of 400 recruiters<\/a> and a mandate to bring 76,500 new soldiers<\/a> into the service this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some units are having a tougher time of it than others, according to a memo dated April 18 from the commander of the 5th Recruiting Brigade, announcing 10-hour workdays and requiring several Saturdays a month on the job. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The memo, first obtained by U.S. Army W.T.F.! Moments<\/a>, turned out to be a draft that was never enacted, according to a U.S. Army Recruiting Command spokeswoman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHis intention with the memo was to communicate the brigade\u2019s current mission posture and open a dialogue with battalion and company leaders about ways to overcome present recruiting challenges,\u201d Kelli Bland, the USAREC spokeswoman, told Army Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 5th Recruiting Brigade was making less than 80 percent of its ongoing goals as it stared down a mission of 22,000 new recruits for this year, Col. Terrance Huston wrote in the directive to his Joint Base San Antonio, Texas-based brigade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He then sent a rough copy around to leaders, asking for feedback that would be discussed at an upcoming brigade-wide meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlans must be ruthlessly executed,\u201d he wrote of the \u201cprospecting\u201d process, where recruiters engage with the community in a range of events designed to pique interest in enlisting. \u201cWe cannot push daily requirements off. We cannot shift weekly requirements into subsequent weeks.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To combat their slow progress, Huston in the memo extended work hours to 9 a.m. through 7 p.m. on Monday through Thursday, as well as three Saturdays of every four weeks, and four Saturdays every five weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy making simple adjustments in duty day and work week (many of the team has already planned and\/already implemented), there is a potential to enlist 170 additional soldiers per week,\u201d he wrote.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, brigade leaders brought their ideas to an operational update in late April, Bland said, and Huston decided to hold off on the mandatory work week changes in favor of letting company commanders make their own adjustments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBased on their plans, the brigade commander agreed to modify the directive to delegate authority to company commanders to determine the need for Saturday work hours,\u201d Bland said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Huston set a deadline to review the memo in late June, she added, before turning over command to Col. Roman Cantu on May 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cantu has implemented a moratorium on extended work hours while he does a review of brigade policies, Bland said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burning out<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Army recruiting has a history of a grueling pace with relentless deadlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The environment came to a head in 2008, during the height of the war in Iraq, when the Army consistently had to recruit 80,000 new soldiers a year, and when the service investigated a trend of recruiter suicides \u2015 17 since the Global War on Terror began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back then, the Associated Press<\/a> reported, there were 8,400 recruiters serving. Today, the number is closer to 4,000, as end strength and recruiting tempo have come down since the start of the 2010s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, the Army finds itself in a tough spot, with the pool of young Americans healthy and interested enough to join the Army declining, while it strains to grow the force and fill its open recruiter billets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surging recruiter hours is not uncommon when the pace needs a jump-start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCommanders have the authority to determine the work hours necessary to accomplish the mission in their specific area of operations,\u201d Bland said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
FILE – In this July 15, 2015 file photo, the Times Square military recruiting station displays insignia for each military branch in New York. Beginning this summer, a visit to a local Army recruiting office around the country will include a new set of gymnastic tests to help determine what military jobs a recruit is physically capable of doing. (AP Photo\/Bebeto Matthews, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\t