Navy recruiters' success costs some their jobs
By Elizabeth M. Gillespie
Associated Press
SEATTLE — Standing in a room full of Navy recruiters, Vice Adm. Gerald Hoewing had nothing but praise for the rank-and-file in charge of signing up new sailors.
Associated Press
"You can tell from the dramatic reduction in attrition in the last few years, you are bringing in superstars," Hoewing said this month in his firstvisit to the Seattle area as the Navy's chief of personnel.
Vice Adm. Gerald Hoewing, head of Navy personnel, spoke to Navy recruiters Sept. 10. So many sailors have been staying in the service, the Navy has lowered its recruiting goals and cut recruitment budgets.
In fact, he said, so many sailors have been staying in the service in recent years, the Navy has actually lowered national recruitment goals, which have been met or exceeded every month for about two years straight.
Here's the rub: With lower goals, the Navy has cut about 700 recruiting jobs and millions from its national recruitment budget in the past two years.
Master Chief Daymond Howell, chief recruiter for the Seattle district, minced no words putting his concerns into perspective.
"I've lost recruiters. I've lost cars. I've lost telephones. We're still expected to do the same job," said Howell, who oversees recruiting in Washington state, northern Idaho, Montana and Alaska.
Hands on his hips, Hoewing leveled with the sailors.
The Navy expects to sign up about 41,000 recruits across the country for the fiscal year that ends this month — down from roughly 56,000 three years ago. A Navy that needs fewer recruits is a Navy that needs fewer recruiters, Hoewing said.
This year, the Navy's recruitment budget is about $572 million, which covers a nationwide staff of about 4,000 recruiters, advertising and other costs. That's about $26 million less than the 2002 fiscal year.
When Pentagon budget makers tell him they have to trim here and there, Hoewing said he does his best to keep them from cutting too much from recruitment.
"We fight that battle because there's a point at which we can break what is very, very successful," he said. "My job is to make sure that doesn't happen."
The Army, Air Force and Marines also have been meeting recruitment goals in the past few years, according to Department of Defense statistics.
On top of steady recruitment, the Navy has been beating its retention goals.
Nationally, more than 80 percent of sailors with six to 10 years of experience decided to continue their service as of this past March, surpassing a goal of 73 percent. The retention rate for career sailors, those with 11 to 14 years of service, was nearly 90 percent as of March; the goal was 86 percent.
With the economy in a slump, many people see military service as their best bet for a steady paycheck, several recruiters said. There are others who say they're signing up because they want to do their part in the war on terrorism.
