Some 6,000 new troopers recruited this 12 months have chosen their first obligation station, as a part of a comparatively new Army effort to present younger troops extra flexibility because the service scrambles to make enlisting as attractive as doable amid historic recruiting struggles.
The most well-liked obligation station by far is Alaska, dwelling of the newly revamped eleventh Airborne Division, which 825 new troopers have chosen. Fort Polk, Louisiana, had 83 troopers volunteer for obligation there, the fewest among the many seven authentic obligation station choices the Army set in February.
Since February, the service has slowly expanded the variety of first obligation stations recruits can select from. Now, the Army provides 32 choices, successfully all of its main bases. The latest additions in August embrace bases in Virginia, Maryland and Georgia.
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In July, the Army added a few of its premier fight installations together with Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Fort Campbell, Kentucky; and Vicenza, Italy — successfully guaranteeing a brand new recruit generally is a paratrooper, or serve within the prestigious a hundred and first Airborne, an air assault division, which generally is a highly effective recruiting incentive.
The Army aimed to recruit 60,000 new active-duty troopers into its ranks this 12 months, a objective that the service will fall 15,000 in need of, based on Army Secretary Christine Wormuth. Along with letting troopers select the place they’re stationed, the service has beefed up recruiting bonuses and kicked off a program by which recruits who in any other case have been out of compliance with weight requirements can shed pounds and qualify for service. It additionally permits different candidates who failed the doorway examination to get tutoring.
The sheer variety of volunteers won’t paint a full image of the place troops wish to go. Whether or not a soldier is assigned to a particular base of their selecting in the end will depend on vacancies for his or her job specialty. For instance, in July, Korea solely had 11 totally different job choices.
Requests for Unique Six Places New Recruits Might Select From:
Alaska: 825
Fort Carson, Colorado: 679
Fort Hood, Texas: 657
Fort Drum, New York: 293
Fort Riley, Kansas: 202
Fort Polk, Louisiana: 83
Full Listing of Requests:
Alaska: 825
Fort Carson, Colorado: 679
Fort Campbell, Kentucky: 659
Fort Hood, Texas: 657
Europe: 546
Fort Bliss, Texas: 475
Fort Lewis, Washington: 475
Hawaii: 415
Fort Stewart, Georgia: 392
Fort Drum, New York: 293
South Korea: 232
Fort Riley, Kansas: 202
Fort Polk, Louisiana: 83
Fort Benning, Georgia: 76
Fort Irwin, California: 42
Fort Sill, Oklahoma: 42
Fort Meade, Maryland: 30
Fort Eustis, Virginia: 15
Fort Gordon, Georgia: 15
Fort Story, Virginia: 10
Fort Belvoir, Virginia: 8
Fort Bragg, North Carolina: 8
Lackland Air Power Base, Texas: 5
Fort Rucker, Alabama: 5
Fort Detrick, Maryland: 3
Fort Huachuca, Arizona: 2
Fort Knox, Kentucky: 1
Fort Lee, Virginia: 1
Fort Sam Houston, Texas: 1
— Steve Beynon might be reached at Steve.Beynon@navy.com. Observe him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.
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