As the United States Army continues its push towards 500,000 active duty soldiers, a team of six local recruiters stationed in Lansdale seeks to bring awareness to the many upsides to military service.
According to Staff Sergeant Richard Burns, service in the army brings myriad benefits and allows the young men and women of the area to achieve their goals both while in service and after their discharge. Those benefits include cutting edge training, international travel, nearly expense-free living and numerous avenues for a free college education.
Yet, despite their best efforts, Burns says recruiters commonly run into the same obstacle: misinformation.
“When I ask people what they know about the army, the typical response is that they think we’re a bunch of infantryman that run around blowing things up,” said Burns. “That’s far from the case. It’s a misnomer that we’re just here to steal kids and send them off to war. We live here, we are a part of the community. We’re here to help people achieve their goals via the opportunities the military has to offer.”
Burns said that of the United States Army’s 120 occupational specialties, roughly 85 to 90 percent of them are in non-combat arms positions. That means that the majority of those who join will serve in supporting roles, which can range from dental technicians to signals analysts.
Aside from the issue of misinformation, Burns said that many applicants view military service as a secondary option to college, but with skyrocketing student loan debt, paired with the relative ease of securing a free education through military service, more and more are realizing the opportunities that serving has to offer.
An Education Through Service
There are multiple ways to secure an education through serving in the army, including the Post 9/11 GI Bill, tuition reimbursement for those who join with outstanding student loan debt, and tuition assistance while on active duty.
Simply completing basic training and advanced individual training (job training) will grant a soldier between six to 15 college credits. From there, active duty soldiers who choose to take courses throughout their service are given a tuition reimbursement of up to $4,500 annually.
After three years of service, soldiers become eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill, which allows soldiers to select a school and degree, which the army will then pay for. Additionally, and notably, the post 9/11 GI Bill also provides $1,000 annually for books, and provides a monthly housing stipend based on the local cost of living.
“It’s an investment trade off,” said Burns. “The army invests in you, you serve several years on active duty, and then once your enlistment has been completed, the army then takes care of you, so that you can go to school full-time without having to work a full-time job, cover rent, etc.”
For those who may have already completed their education, or currently possess outstanding student loan debt, the Montgomery GI Bill will pay up to $65,000 of the debt upon enlistment.
“If you already have a degree, and you’re thinking about becoming an officer, you could select the Montgomery Gi Bill upon entrance instead of the Post-9/11 GI Bill,” said Burns. “Then, the government will tackle $65,000 of that student loan debt.”
A Matter of Experience
Another way that military service can be beneficial to prospective applicants is years of job experience in their chosen field upon discharge. Unlike a graduate fresh out of college, veterans come with a lot of experience and exclusive opportunities.
“In the current climate, people are going to school, taking out more than $100,000 in student loans, then when they graduate, they can’t get a job because employers want experience,” said Burns. “So now they can’t pay their loans, and the cycle begins.”
Burns added that everyone who goes through training in the army receives a national certificate bearing their qualifications and experience. Additionally, veterans receive preferential treatment for many jobs in the civilian sector, such as an additional 10 points on their civil service exam, state police waiving college credit requirements for their police academy and more.
Options, Bonuses and Reserves
The United States Army is unique in the fact that they are the only branch of the military that allows their applicants to select their job prior to enlistment. Additionally, many jobs within the army provide a financial bonus upon enlistment, though bonuses vary on the needs of the army.
“If you want to enlist in the infantry and want the excitement, the signing bonus may only be $5,000 to $10,000 at the time,” said Burns. “By comparison, if you’re looking to do something in a technological role—which I know the army is short in—you could do something like a signals analyst, which carries higher training and a longer commitment, but also offers a signing bonus of up to $40,000 in addition to the GI Bill.”
For those who may have interest in joining but on a part-time basis, the Army Reserves provide many of the same benefits. Applicants can receive up to $50,000 in student loan repayment, or select the Montgomery GI Bill for future education needs.
Once the soldier’s basic and advanced individual training has been completed, they then return home, and serve only one weekend a month and two-to-three weeks in the summer to maintain their skills. Soldiers in the reserves receive a monthly stipend between $350 to $750 per month, and since there are no combat arms roles in the reserves, the training received transfers easily to the civilian sector.
Fears and Future Soldiers
Aside from misinformation and sometimes being viewed as a second option, recruiters have to overcome many of their applicant’s fears…including the fear of war.
“Most of everyone in life will be fearful of something at some point. Humans have a general fear of the unknown,” said Burns. “If it’s a fear of deployment or combat, we explain that while there is a risk involved, you’re deploying with a large group of thousands of people at a time. Additionally, they’ll have extensive training. We just have to figure out what their fear is and overcome it.”
Another fear that recruiters often hear is the fear of basic training. While rigorous and demanding, many have a skewed view of basic training based off of television and movies. While the latter is easier to overcome, members of the Lansdale Recruiting Station have created the “Future Soldiers Program” to overcome the former.
“A lot of people think they can’t do it. They think they’re not in shape, or they don’t have the right mentality,” said Burns. “To address that, we created the Future Soldiers training program, where we meet with our recruits once a week from the time they enlist to the time they ship out, to prepare them physically and mentally, so when they do reach basic, they will be prepared and know what is expected of them.”
Additional Information
If you are considering serving in the military, or would simply like more information about the United States Army and the United States Army Reserves, you can visit the Lansdale Recruiting Station—located at 100 West Main Street—or you can reach them by phone at (215) 368-0911.
You can also find them on Facebook by clicking here.
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