FORT JACKSON, S.C. – Index cards taped to a large board on the wall at Fort Jackson, S.C., reveal the sometimes blunt and gritty reasons why new recruits took a chance on a last-ditch program to get into the military.
“Deportation notices motivate me,” said one. Others talked about free college, a good job and a way to better themselves.
Known as the “Why Wall,” the board is intended to inspire the recruits who couldn’t meet the Army’s physical and academic testing standards, so they attended the Future Soldier Prep Course. It provides weeks of instruction to help them improve their scores.
Started two years ago as a pilot program to boost dismal recruiting numbers, the preparation course is fueling the Army’s comeback. Recruiting has suffered for all military branches in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, amid low unemployment and intense competition from private companies that can pay more and offer similar or better benefits.
By the end of this budget year, on September 30, the Army had met its recruitment goal of 55,000 troops, and service leaders said more than 13,000 of those recruits – or 24 percent – entered active duty through the preparation course.
Army leaders increased the goal to 61,000 for this year and are confident the preparation course will again deliver a significant portion.
During a recent visit to Fort Jackson, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth spoke with recruits and program leaders to see where the trajectory is going and what changes may need to be made. She said the successful program, which has seen more than 31,000 trainees go through since its inception, deserves to be made permanent.
Wormuth said the Army may make adjustments based on a long-term study of the recruits coming out of the course, which will also look at how well they did in their first enlistment and whether there were any behavioral or disciplinary problems.
“We really want to see what kind of Soldier comes out at the end of that first term, and how they do in terms of discipline,” Wormuth said.
Drill sergeants have expressed concern that they are seeing more discipline problems, disrespect and complaints from trainees in the academic training program. And they say interns whose native language is not English have a harder time understanding assignments and using computers.
While they see fewer discipline issues among recruits in the fitness department, they do see more injuries, including ankle, knee and hip problems. Those trainees, they say, may need to be taken even more slowly to increase their strength and fitness, rather than moving them into basic training once they meet the minimum requirements.
Commanders told Wormuth that the fitness program aims to give trainees a healthy foundation when eating and exercising. Instructors said they don’t want to break the recruits before they start basic training, so they do lots of yoga, stretching and other exercises to help prevent injuries.
In the classrooms they learn basic math, English and other academic skills. The majority of recruits who go through the program are pursuing an academic education.
So far, Wormuth said, the data does not reflect some of the concerns expressed by drill sergeants and commanders. Instead, she and other Army leaders said the basic training pass rate averages slightly higher — about 94 percent — for those who went through the program, compared to those who did not, which amounts to about 92 percent.
But so far, they draw inspiration from the thoughts scrawled on the Why Wall.
Last year, company commanders came up with the idea of having recruits outline their goals for the first few days so they can go back every week to get motivated or see their progress.
A bright yellow sign on top of the board tells recruits, “Your WHY keeps you going, even when you most want to quit.” The answer for many was that they had something to prove – to themselves and to others.
‘I joined the army because my family thought I couldn’t achieve anything in life. So I had to prove them wrong,” said one. Another wrote: “I want to show my family that I’m worth something.”
Others said they wanted to “be a better man,” “gain my independence” and “prove to myself that I can achieve and that I’m not a quitter.”
One recruit was blunt: “To prove to her that I won’t turn into who she said I would become.”
Recruits lined up near the wall told Wormuth that the physical fitness program is working for them.
Couper Godleski from Pennsylvania said he lost 20 pounds in 10 weeks.
Britney Vaughn, from Louisiana, said she lost 30 pounds in six weeks. And although she said she misses her three-year-old daughter, “I feel like everything will be worth it.”
On the academic side, recruits told Wormuth that even if they struggle with understanding math or English, they get help from instructors as they learn the structure and discipline of the military. A key goal, one female recruit said, is “to be a role model for my cousins” and get money for her education so she doesn’t have to go into debt.
For Wormuth, the visit confirmed the army leaders’ intention to keep the program going.
There is no end to the recruiting challenges, she said.
“I think we’ll probably continue to see pretty low unemployment. We will still see 60 percent going to college. It is a more competitive job market,” she said. “So we will have to continue to fight hard for our new recruits.”
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