EDUCATION PROGRAMS TO HELP ARMY RECRUIT PLAN INCLUDES COLLEGE INCENTIVE
Miami Herald, The (FL) - Friday, February 4, 2000
Author: Associated Press
The Army launched two education programs Thursday aimed at boosting recruitment by offering prospects help in getting the equivalent of a high school diploma or going to college before active duty.
The programs are expected to have the biggest impact in attracting more Hispanics, who make up about 40 percent of those eligible.
There's a catch to both plans: Since they are test programs, they are being offered only to recruits in limited areas of the country. Nothing, however, will prevent applicants from picking cities where they enlist.
The new incentives can bring ``motivated young men and women back into the world of learning and the world of success,'' said Education Secretary Richard Riley.
One program, GED Plus, offers nongraduates help in getting a General Equivalency Diploma, which is considered equal to a high school diploma, before they serve. As part of the test, some recruiting stations will provide additional incentives. Miami is among the sites offering GED Plus without additional incentives.
The other, College Plus, offers $150 a month or reserve training pay, depending on where they enlist, to recruits who want to complete a two-year college degree before serving. As part of the test, reserve service will be mandatory at some enlistment centers.
The Army has had difficulty selling the graduate equivalency program to the Pentagon because other services are reluctant to use any incentive that might decrease the quality of recruits.
But Army Secretary Louis Caldera and retired Gen. Colin Powell, who also endorsed the plans, insisted that won't happen, because recruits will still have to qualify through strict screening and will go on active duty only when they have the equivalent of a diploma.
Caldera, outlining the plans, said they expected to add about 500 recruits a month, which is just about exactly the shortfall the Army had in meeting its recruiting goal last year.
The program is expected to cost about $6 million a year.
The programs are expected to have the biggest impact in attracting more Hispanics, who make up about 40 percent of those eligible.
There's a catch to both plans: Since they are test programs, they are being offered only to recruits in limited areas of the country. Nothing, however, will prevent applicants from picking cities where they enlist.
The new incentives can bring ``motivated young men and women back into the world of learning and the world of success,'' said Education Secretary Richard Riley.
One program, GED Plus, offers nongraduates help in getting a General Equivalency Diploma, which is considered equal to a high school diploma, before they serve. As part of the test, some recruiting stations will provide additional incentives. Miami is among the sites offering GED Plus without additional incentives.
The other, College Plus, offers $150 a month or reserve training pay, depending on where they enlist, to recruits who want to complete a two-year college degree before serving. As part of the test, reserve service will be mandatory at some enlistment centers.
The Army has had difficulty selling the graduate equivalency program to the Pentagon because other services are reluctant to use any incentive that might decrease the quality of recruits.
But Army Secretary Louis Caldera and retired Gen. Colin Powell, who also endorsed the plans, insisted that won't happen, because recruits will still have to qualify through strict screening and will go on active duty only when they have the equivalent of a diploma.
Caldera, outlining the plans, said they expected to add about 500 recruits a month, which is just about exactly the shortfall the Army had in meeting its recruiting goal last year.
The program is expected to cost about $6 million a year.
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