{"id":73897,"date":"2023-03-05T19:06:57","date_gmt":"2023-03-05T19:06:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/03\/05\/it-takes-a-community-to-recruit-and-retain-service-members\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:24:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:24:21","slug":"it-takes-a-community-to-recruit-and-retain-service-members","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/opinion\/2023\/03\/05\/it-takes-a-community-to-recruit-and-retain-service-members\/","title":{"rendered":"It takes a community to recruit and retain service members"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Military recruitment is not a topic that has traditionally come up when leaders from military communities engage with leaders at the Department of Defense and the military services. That has changed. Record low unemployment, demographic changes and shifting perceptions of military service have created a recruiting environment that is one of the most challenging since we moved to an all-volunteer force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is clear that we can\u2019t just do what we have done in the past. We need new, bold ideas. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usni.org\/magazines\/proceedings\/2022\/november\/recruiting-requires-bold-changes\" target=\"_blank\">recently<\/a> that we need to find a way to get out of \u201cthe relentless momentum of the status quo, which can no longer be accepted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Per capita, defense communities have long been one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalpriorities.org\/analysis\/2011\/military-recruitment-2010\/\" target=\"_blank\">largest sources for recruiting<\/a> thanks to our military families and the local familiarity that comes from hosting a military base. Military families and defense communities can\u2019t be the sole source of recruitment if we want a healthy force long-term, but we also can\u2019t take them for granted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The path to boldness in this case might just begin in the communities the military calls home \u2014 America\u2019s defense communities. The ideas we see emerging from the 300 communities who make up the <a href=\"https:\/\/defensecommunities.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Association of Defense Communities<\/a>, don\u2019t solve every problem, but they come with an unmatched passion for the military, and we think that is a good place to start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First, let\u2019s make defense communities true partners in recruitment. Our communities embrace the military through big and small actions every day. The positive awareness that creates can lay the groundwork for long-term recruiting success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Community-led programs like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=j1Zh7dTRWAY\" target=\"_blank\">Career and Technical Education, or CTE, program<\/a> in Tullahoma, Tennessee, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lWpTB0U15T8&#038;feature=youtu.be\" target=\"_blank\">cybersecurity and coding program<\/a> in Little Rock, Arkansas, introduce military life to students in our communities. They are impactful and should be supported and embraced. An investment in expanding these programs to other communities, along with DoD\u2019s youth engagement initiatives such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/dodstarbase.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Starbase<\/a> outreach program, could pay dividends now and into the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Next, we cannot tackle recruitment without also addressing retention. Our recruitment challenges will continue to grow if we cannot find ways to keep service members in uniform. That means dealing with the quality of life in military communities. If military families can\u2019t find good schools, quality childcare, affordable housing and employment for family members \u2014 wherever they are deployed \u2014 the <a href=\"https:\/\/bluestarfam.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/BSF_MFLS_CompReport_FULL.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">likelihood they will leave service grows<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No community can solve these issues alone. The <a href=\"https:\/\/oldcc.gov\/defense-community-infrastructure-program-dcip\" target=\"_blank\">Defense Community Infrastructure Program, or DCIP,<\/a> Congress created four years ago with our support has been a game-changer in supporting important investments outside the gate, but there is so much more that needs to be done. We must broaden the vision of DCIP to make it a vehicle to enhance the local support services and programs that are critical to service members and their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, we need to take the lessons we have learned from defense communities about engagement, awareness and bridging the military-civilian divide and make them available to every community. We need to redirect recruitment dollars to invest in community-based outreach programs across the country that engage our local leaders and veterans, share the positive impacts of the military and build awareness of career opportunities created by service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Long-term military readiness must be a priority as our nation prepares to address the threats we face. It takes a community to recruit our future service members. If we work as one community, we can make it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Karen Holt is the vice president of the Association of Defense Communities and has played an advocacy role with Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, for almost two decades. Today, as federal installation administrator, she serves as Hartford County\u2019s liaison to APG and more than 155 defense contractors promoting community resources to industry.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Have an opinion?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>This article is an Op-Ed and as such, the opinions expressed are those of the author. If you would like to respond, or have an editorial of your own you would like to submit, please <\/i><a href=\"mailto:opinions@militarytimes.com\"><i>email us<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Want more perspectives like this sent straight to you? <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/link.militarytimes.com\/join\/5b9\/sign-up-opinion\"><i>Subscribe to get our Commentary &amp; Opinion newsletter<\/i><\/a><i> once a week.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>America&#8217;s defense communities have long been one of the largest sources for military recruiting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":107002,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":14,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[73,101,23,89,26,14],"tags":[],"coauthors":[6945],"class_list":["post-73897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-newsletters","category-opinion"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"JZVJ3B53XVFGFNPAP52YXWLHYQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/opinion\/commentary\/2023\/03\/05\/it-takes-a-community-to-recruit-and-retain-service-members\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>It takes a community to recruit and retain service members - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"America&#039;s defense communities have long been one of the largest sources for military recruiting.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"It takes a community to recruit and retain service members\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"America&#039;s defense communities have long been one of the largest sources for military recruiting.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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