I shared that Post 13 Sitka, Alaska, has partnered with recruiters and has served as a liaison to our local schools and youth centers. To testify to the success of this relationship on 2/21/2024 U.S. Army recruiters from Anchorage, SSG Williams and SSG Torres (SSG Williams cell: 907.538.9906, in case you wish to follow up with him and his perspective of the success they had in Sitka) had worked with me on getting time with the high schools, especially Mount Edgecumbe High School (as they were never successful in getting an invite) as well as Sitka and Pacific High.
Due to the success of our post's involvement with all three schools and The American Legion's School Medal Award programs, I was able to get the invites and create opportunities for these recruiters. I also joined the SSGs at their table, answering questions of what I got out of the military and what it enabled me to do in the future due to the training I had received. This network provided them with four possible candidates as well as an in-school TV interview with Mount Edgecumbe HS that reached the entire campus.
On the whole, veterans need to step up to help our country once again to prevent the national security crisis that would occur if our military were unable to be called upon. We need veterans’ assistance in issuing the call to serve and persuading more young people to answer the call like we did so many years ago. Legionnaires have a unique opportunity to partner with our military recruitment services to assist. While current active duty can answer most questions, it is our veterans that will drive it home as we have seen it through from start to finish, to say "basic training back to civilian life." This enables us to answer more questions and assist in helping these candidates to make a good decision to join.
Legionnaires should be engaged at all levels of the recruitment process, explaining how life of service can be. They can help us broaden the pool just by showing up and demonstrating to potential candidates how important it is to serve. Veterans can also provide first-person accounts of how their time in the military enhanced their lives and served successful civilian lives.
The current crisis won’t just affect one year but will continue in our society due to social media misinformation from those that have not served and/or "fake" AI videos. Fewer recruits mean fewer available candidates for key technical training, professional development and leadership positions in the years to come. Especially concerning is what will happen to the ranks of our NCOs, and staff noncommissioned officers, or SNCOs, the undeniable backbone of the all-volunteer force.
Legionnaires can be exemplars of national service, helping steer our age-eligible population to national, community and military service in every part of our country. I implore all Legionnaires to reach out to local recruitment of all services to offer assistance. If they fall on "deaf ears," I strongly encourage them to seek the chain of command and work their way into these programs. Current recruiters need all the assistance they can get as currently the numbers are worse than that of 1939, with only the Navy and Marines posed to meet their goals this year.
