Recruiter tells CSA: it’s about leadership, not salesmanship

By Lt. Col. Michael Negard, WASHINGTON (Army News Service, June 21, 2005)

During a visit to Petoskey, Mich., June 16-17, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker paid a short visit to the city’s Army Recruiting Station to glean insights on recruiting efforts in the Northern Michigan region.

During the 30-minute meeting, Schoomaker discussed recruiting, standards, and initiatives with Staff Sgt. Wesley Watson, the Army recruiter assigned to the small year-round resort community nestled on the shores of Lake Michigan's Little Traverse Bay.

“Recruiting is no different than having duties on an installation in the sense that it’s not salesmanship, it’s leadership,” Watson told the Army chief. “This isn’t selling car insurance. This is about human lives that we are dealing with.”

You betcha. Nice to see that recruiters are embracing the move away from salesmanship and back to what NCO's do: lead.

“We would really like to focus our efforts in training into ways you think are appropriate, so any ideas you have would be very useful,” Schoomaker told Watson. “Tell us how you think we can improve our processes from your position. How can we give all the Soldiers, recruiters like you in these various communities, the tools they need?”

Sir, do you want the short list or the long one?

The two also discussed recruiting standards at length, focusing on the recent change in waiver policy.

“We aren’t lowering our standards,” Schoomaker said, referring to recent reports in the media that claimed standards were being loosened in order to draw more recruits.

What has changed is the waiver authority for minor offenses. The new policy delegates the waiver authority to a lower level but still requires a general officer to consider the applicant’s packet and grant any waiver. Normally only minor infractions are waived, but with some demonstration that the potential recruit has matured and developed into a responsible candidate. Army policy still prevents convicted felons, and drug and sex offenders from joining.

Good to hear. A distinction many don't understand.

I'll tell you what, the pucker-factor would be on high alert:


I'd have a great story for applicants, though: "You know what? The highest ranking Soldier in the entire Army sat in that chair that your sitting in. He had some great things to say and I listened to him. Now I'm ready to listen to you."