"A Bold Strategy"

 

As a soldier using education benefits, this article immediately caught my eye. It might surprise people, but marketing has a big role in the military, and it finds its home in recruiting and retention. Recruiter's have to sell the idea of military service to both civilians and current military alike, doing so requires them to appeal to their niches and general market just like any other business or organization.  

According to a survey put out by Syracuse University's Institute for Veterans and Military Families asking US troops what made them want to serve, 53% said education benefits. In 2023, only 32% of active duty families still recommended serving (Military Times). Despite increased recruiting, the Army still fell 10% short of its recruiting goals in 2023. This brings us to a Military Times Article written on April 8th, where it is revealed that the Army is considering cutting funding to its Tuition Assistance and Credentialing Assistance programs. The Article calls the education benefits "among the service's premier recruiting and retention tools' '. It's important to note that the extent of the cuts is unknown, as well as why it's being considered. However, it's important to look at the impact a headline like his could have on an already difficult recruiting situation.

Education benefits are a big motivator for people to join and stay in the military. 101,000 Soldiers have used these benefits every year since 2020 (military times). What kind of message does this send to current and future soldiers? Another question to ask is if the Army has a niche group that can help keep people in, or motivate the general market to join? I'm inclined to answer no to the latter, and for the former it personally feels like getting flipped the bird. The fact that no cuts have been confirmed yet, nor the extent of said cuts is irrelevant to the impact this news can have on public perception. Nobody is going to read this article and say "Boy, sign me up!". A recruiting and retention deficit should see headlines promising more benefits, or at a minimum headlines highlighting the current ones. 

I think the Army really messed up letting this information get out. Furthermore, their lack of damage control also sends a bad message. People who care about these benefits (again, 53% of the people who end up joining) haven't received any kind of reassurance that the Army keeps the programs they want, or that they'll replace them with something else. All those folk see is a net loss for them, and who "buys" an idea or product like that? Does anybody like it when they get less for the same price?

If I were the Army, I would be waving my education benefits from a giant flag in front of every college in the nation. I'd be screaming from the rooftop of the Dean's office "Hey! Get paid to do this!" until I got kicked off of campus. I'm exaggerating, but my point remains, I'd do everything I could to highlight the reason half of the US military joined, and if something threatened that, I would BURY it until I had a carefully worded press release to ease the blow.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/04/08/army-weighing-cuts-tuition-assistance-move-could-slash-benefits-used-100000-soldiers-annually.html

https://www.diverseeducation.com/military/article/15114180/educational-opportunities-remain-a-major-draw-for-new-military-recruits#:~:text=Fifty%2Dthree%20percent%2C%20the%20largest,number%20one%20reason%20to%20enlist.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/03/18/only-one-third-of-military-families-would-still-recommend-service-blue-star-families-survey-finds.html

https://mwi.westpoint.edu/ending-the-churn-to-solve-the-recruiting-crisis-the-army-should-be-asking-very-different-questions/#:~:text=The%20Army%20has%20been%20ramping,of%20sixty%2Dfive%20thousand%20recruits.