Army Recruiting Tries to Keep Pace amid Job Market Crunch, Civilian Competition

“We’re in a war for talent.”

That’s one of the most often-used catch phrases for Army senior leaders when discussing the service’s effort to attract, train and retain soldiers.

But Army Recruiting Command’s top officials put it a little differently. In an interview with Army Times, USAREC Command Sgt. Maj. John Foley called it a “competition…with Corporate America for highly-qualified, talented and bright individuals.”

Army Times interviewed Foley and USAREC’s commander, Maj. Gen. Kevin Vereen, to check in on the command’s initiatives amid a challenging labor market.

Foley’s not wrong. While some observers have attributed recruiting challenges to a perceived decline in the number of Americans qualified to serve, the CSM laid out a different problem that his recruiters are facing on the streets — other organizations have taken a few pages out of the Army’s playbook.

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