Military recruitment

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Globe icon
 This article or section deals primarily with the United States and does not represent a worldwide view of the subject.
Please improve this article or discuss the issue on the talk page.
A British Military recruitment centre in Oxford.
A British Military recruitment centre in Oxford.

Military recruitment is the act of requesting people, usually male adults, to join a military voluntarily. Involuntary military recruitment is conscription. Recruitment is necessary to maintain an effective standing army in countries that have abolished conscription or which operate a volunteer military. To facilitate this process, militaries have established recruiting commands. These units are solely responsible for increasing military enlistment.

Military recruitment can be considered part of military science if analysed as part of military history. Acquiring large amounts of forces in a relatively short period of time, especially voluntarily, as opposed to stable development, is a frequent phenomenon in history. One particular example is the regeneration of the military strength of the Communist Party of China from a depleted force of 8,000 following the Long March in 1934 into 2.8 million near the end of the Chinese Civil War 14 years later.

Recent cross-cultural studies suggest that, throughout the world, the same broad categories may be used to define recruitment appeals. They include war, economic motivation, education, family and friends, politics, and identity and psychosocial factors. [1]

Contents

[edit] Wartime Recruitment Strategies in the United States

Prior to the outbreak of World War I, military recruitment in the US was conducted primarily by individual states. [2] Upon entering the war, however, the need for a large and quickly mobilized military shifted the responsibility to the federal government.

The increased emphasis on a national effort was reflected in WWI recruitment methods. Peter A. Padilla and Mary Riege Laner define six basic appeals to these recruitment campaigns: patriotism, job/career/education, adventure/challenge, social status, travel, and miscellaneous. Between 1915 and 1918, 42% of all army recruitment posters were themed primarily by patriotism [3]. And though other themes - such as adventure and greater social status - would play an increased role during World War II recruitment, appeals to serve one’s country remained the dominant selling point.

After WWII, military recruitment shifted significantly. With no war calling men and women to duty, the United States refocused its recruitment efforts to present the military as a career option, and as a means of achieving a higher education. A large majority - 55% - of all recruitment posters would serve this end. And though peacetime would not last, factors such as the move to an all-volunteer military would ultimately keep career-oriented recruitment efforts in place. [4]

[edit] Recruitment Without Conscription

On February 20, 1970, the President’s Commission on an All-Volunteer Armed Force unanimously agreed that the United States would be best served by an all-volunteer military. In supporting this recommendation, the committee noted that recruitment efforts would have to be intensified, as new enlistees would need to be convinced rather than conscripted. Much like the post-WWII era, these new campaigns would require an emphasis in job opportunity. As such, the committee recommended “improved basic compensation and conditions of service, proficiency pay, and accelerated promotions for the highly skilled to make military career opportunities more attractive.” These new directives were to be combined with “an intensive recruiting effort.” [5] Finalized in mid-1973, the recruitment of a “professional” military was met with success. In 1975 and 1976, military enlistments exceeded expectations, with over 365,000 men and women entering the military. Though this may, in part, have been the result of a lack of civilian jobs during the recession, it nevertheless stands to underline the ways in which recruiting efforts responded to the circumstances of the time. [6]

Indeed, recommendations made by the President's Commission continue to work in present-day recruitment efforts. Understanding the need for greater individual incentive, the US military has re-packaged the benefits of the GI Bill. Though originally intended as compensation for service, the bill is now seen as a recruiting tool. Today, the GI Bill is "no longer a reward for service rendered, but an inducement to serve and has become a significant part of recruiters’ pitches.” [7]

[edit] Military recruitment in the United Kingdom

Further Information see National Service and Recruiting history of the British Army

During both world wars and a period after the second, military service was mandatory for at least some of the British poplulation. At other times, techniques similar to those outlined above have been used. The most prominent concern over the years has been the minimum age for recruitment, which has been 16 for many years.[8] This has now been raised to 18 in relation to combat operations. In recent years, there have been various concerns over the techniques used in (especially) army recruitment in relation to the portrayal of such a career as an enjoyable adventure.[9][10]

[edit] Recruitment Posters

A recruitment poster is a poster used in advertisement to recruit people into an organization, and is the most popularized method of military recruitment.

A Canadian WWI recruitment poster

A World War I recruitment poster featuring Lord Kitchener (British Minister of War)

J. M. Flagg's Uncle Sam recruited soldiers for World War I. Based on the Kitchener poster.

An Australian WWI recruitment poster

A 1944 Waffen SS recruitment poster. "You Too! Your comrades await in the French Division of the Waffen-SS"

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Brett, Rachel, and Irma Specht. Young Soldiers: Why They Choose to Fight. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2004. ISBN 1-58826-261-8
  2. ^ Padilla, Peter A. and Mary Riege Laner. “Trends in Military Influences on Army Recruitment: 1915-1953.” Sociological Inquiry, Vol. 71, No. 4. Fall 2001421-36. Austin: University of Texas Press. Page 423
  3. ^ Padilla, Peter A. and Mary Riege Laner. “Trends in Military Influences on Army Recruitment: 1915-1953.” Sociological Inquiry, Vol. 71, No. 4. Fall 2001421-36. Austin: University of Texas Press. Page 423
  4. ^ Padilla, Peter A. and Mary Riege Laner. “Trends in Military Influences on Army Recruitment: 1915-1953.” Sociological Inquiry, Vol. 71, No. 4. Fall 2001421-36. Austin: University of Texas Press. Page 433
  5. ^ The Report of the President’s Commission on an All-Volunteer Armed Force. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1970. Page 18.
  6. ^ Bliven, Bruce Jr. Volunteers, One and All. New York: Readers Digest Press, 1976. ISBN 0-88349-058-7
  7. ^ White, John B. Lieutenant Commander, US Naval Reserve, Ph. D. "The GI Bill: Recruiting Bonus, Retention Onus." Military Review, July-August 2004.
  8. ^ BBC News | UK | Marching orders for teenage soldiers?
  9. ^ BBC NEWS | UK | MoD denies 'war glamour' claim
  10. ^ BBC NEWS | Education | Teachers reject 'Army propaganda'