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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Army recruiting

Army recruiting stories: 18 news summaries

 Economy Sparks 
 Record Military 
 Recruitment 

Bleak employment, bonuses boost numbers to highest level since draft ended

Oct 14, 09 3:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - The recession has helped boost the US military to its best recruitment year since the post-Vietnam switch to an all-volunteer force. Recruiters hit or exceeded all their targets for the first time since 1973, surprising even Pentagon officials. In addition to rising unemployment, recruiting was helped by bonuses, a recruiting... More »

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Army recruiting • US military • recruitment • US Army • unemployment • military recruits • Defense Dept


 Army Recruiters' 
 Video Arcade 
 Draws Fire 

Simulations ignore 'reality of war itself:' Pulitzer winner Chris Hedges

Sep 11, 09 5:26 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Army Experience Center in Philadelphia—a sort of video arcade/recruiting center—has numerous detractors, and those opponents have an influential ally. “This is just a new version of an old attempt” at recruiting, Pulitzer Prize winner and former New York Times war correspondent Chris Hedges tells dscriber.... More »

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Army recruiting • US military • Pennsylvania • protests • Philadelphia • recruitment • anti war movement • video games • Chris Hedges • Army Experience Center

analysis

No Child Left Unrecruited

Pentagon uses NCLB, other sneaky means
to get info on teens
in high school

Sep 1, 09 3:32 PM CDT
(Newser) - The military is using a host of behind-the-scenes methods—including the No Child Left Behind Act—to gather information on high school students for recruitment, writes David Goodman in Mother Jones. A little-known provision in NCLB, for instance, requires schools that get funding to supply recruiters with info on... More »

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Pentagon • Army recruiting • US military • recruitment • Department of Defense • data mining • high school students • Army Services Vocational Aptitude Battery

(Newser) - Uncle Sam wants you…to friend him on Facebook. Social networking sites have become a key part of the army’s recruitment process, the AP reports. Recruiters try to friend prospective soldiers on Facebook, while Gen. Ray Odierno updates his “fans” on the progress in Iraq. The sites have... More »

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social networking • Facebook • Army recruiting • Twitter

 Army May Not Want 
 You So Bad After All 

Jobless rate drives surge in applicants

Apr 19, 09 10:14 AM CDT
(Newser) - Rising unemployment and safer conditions in Iraq have boosted interest in joining the Army, allowing recruiters to raise acceptance standards. The Washington Post reports that felons and recent drug users need not apply, and the pool of applicants also is better educated. For the first time since 2004, the Army... More »

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Army recruiting • US military • drug use • felony • recruitment • US Army • military recruits • Iraq war • Afghanistan war

 Psst, Fat Boy: 
 Uncle Sam Wants You 

Military tells recruits with high BMI that they can sign up now, lose weight later

Jan 5, 09 12:25 PM CST
(Newser) - To reel in more recruits, the US Army is relaxing weight restrictions on would-be soldiers. A waiver program gives outsize volunteers a year after signing up to get in shape, measured by body-mass index, or be booted, the Christian Science Monitor reports. With the youthful population consuming more and exercising... More »

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obesity • obesity epidemic • Army recruiting • recruits • US Army • military recruits • body mass index

Army School Gets Dropouts Ready to Serve

Military needs more eligible recruits
to fill its ranks

Aug 27, 08 6:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - The US Army today opened its first prep school to prepare high school dropouts for military service, the AP reports. With wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and not enough eligible recruits, the Army wants unqualified prospects to earn their GEDs. "Only three out of every 10 people of military... More »

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high school • Army recruiting • US military • US Army • military recruits • Iraq war • Afghanistan war

Cops Say Letters a Coincidence

Envelopes sent to lawmakers not related to Times Square bombing

Mar 7, 08 12:52 PM CST
(Newser) - A hundred members of Congress got envelopes yesterday stuffed with a political rant, a photo of a man in front of the Times Square military recruiting station, and the bold taunt, “We did it.” But, bizarrely, they weren't  connected to the blast that damaged the landmark yesterday morning,... More »

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military • Army recruiting • bombing • Times Square • Times Square blast

NY Cops Probe
2 Similar
Bombings

Serial bomber
could be at work
in Manhattan

Mar 7, 08 5:10 AM CST
(Newser) - Police and federal agents are looking into striking similarities between yesterday's Times Square bombing and two earlier explosions to determine if there could be a serial bomber at work, the New York Times reports. The device, timing, method of delivery and suspect in the Times Square attack at a military... More »

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New York City • Army recruiting • bombing • explosion • Times Square

Letters Linked to NYC Bombing Claim 'We Did It'

They were sent to Capitol Hill; bomber remains unknown

Mar 6, 08 9:25 PM CST
(Newser) - As many as 10 Capitol Hill offices received letters today with a photo of a man standing in front of the Times Square military recruiting office before it was struck by a small bomb. A message with the photo reads, “Happy New Year, We Did It,” the AP... More »

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New York City • Dianne Feinstein • Army recruiting • aide • Capitol Hill • bombing • letters • explosion • Afghan Army • Times Square • military recruits • Iraq war

Explosion Hits Times Square Recruiting Office

None injured in blast that damaged entrance

Mar 6, 08 6:32 AM CST
(Newser) - Police are investigating an explosion that shattered the entrance to an Army recruitment office in Times Square early this morning, the AP reports. No one was injured, but police cordoned off the area, and prevented subway trains from stopping in the square briefly. “I was up on the 44th... More »

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terrorism • New York City • Army recruiting • recruitment • Times Square

Uncle Sam Wants ... Anybody

Military lowers standards, hits new low in recruiting high school graduates

Jan 23, 08 10:28 AM CST
(Newser) - The Army is lowering standards to meet recruiting goals, with the percentage of high school-educated recruits dropping to a new low of 70.7% last year, reports the Washington Post. The Army hasn't reached its goal of 90% since 2004. A new study also shows that the number of "... More »

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Army recruiting • tour of duty • US Army • recruiting • high school graduates • Uncle Sam • high school diploma • military recruits • military qualification test • recruiting goals

Uncle Sam Wants You
(But He'll Talk to Mom First)

New bonuses offer help on mortgages, business startups

Nov 30, 07 10:01 PM CST
(Newser) - Army recruiters will soon promise recruits hefty bonuses to buy a home or start a business in a bid to sway their parents that enlisting is a good investment, the Wall Street Journal reports. "We know most 18-year-old kids don't think about mortgages yet," says a Pentagon official.... More »

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Army recruiting • war • US Army

Army, Told to Grow, Focuses on Retention

With new recruits ever-harder to come by, keeping soldiers is key

Nov 8, 07 6:20 PM CST
(Newser) - Ordered to expand its forces, the US Army is shifting its strategy from recruitment to keeping the soldiers it already has. One reason is the decreasing number of suitable applicants. "We have to retain more soldiers if we're going to grow the Army [in full] by 65,000,"... More »

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Army recruiting • US Army

Got a Record?
No Problem

US military wants to ease entry, but some officers worry about 'problem children'

Nov 6, 07 8:19 PM CST
(Newser) - Seeking to swell enlisted ranks, the Pentagon may let more minor criminals enlist in the military, the AP reports. "I do believe it needs to be done," an Army official said of the proposed plan. "There are really anomalies out there"—like recruits who have youthful... More »

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Pentagon • Army recruiting • US military • soldier • officer • Chiefs of Staff

For Fast Recruits, a Fast $20K

"Quick Ship" bonus meant to remedy enlistee shortage

Aug 5, 07 12:23 PM CDT
(Newser) - An understaffed Army is testing out a tidy bonus to entice enlistees who agree to ship out to basic training within 30 days of signing up. The Army will be offering the $20K "Quick Ship" bonus until September to try and reach an increasingly ambitious recruiting goal of 80,... More »

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Army recruiting • money • US troops • US Army • enlist

Draft Won’t Solve Army’s Problems

Report forecasts a less effective—and not any fairer—force

Jul 23, 07 11:04 AM CDT
(Newser) - Despite calls for a draft to "fix"  the ailing US Army, it would be less efficient financially and less effective on the ground than the volunteer Army, a new study concludes. A Congressional Budget Office paper, reported in Time, says draftees make for less well-trained soldiers because... More »

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Army recruiting • draft

Army Fights to Keep Up Quality

Report shows dip
in quality of
new soldiers

Jun 1, 07 12:13 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Army is attracting the lowest rate of high-quality recruits in a decade, the Boston Globe reports. Almost 40% of volunteers scored below-average on verbal and math scores in 2006, according to an analysis of Defense Department personnel statistics. Four years ago, that figure was 29%. The number of recruits... More »

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military • Army recruiting • Department of Defense • US Army • test score • aptitude

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