Marketplace (6:30 PM ET) - SYND April 16, 2004
Slow job market good for military recruitment
ANCHORS: DAVID BROWN
REPORTERS: HILLARY WICAI
DAVID BROWN, anchor:
Thank goodness it's Friday, April 16. We're going to resist the impulse to summarize the week and wait until we chat with David Johnson in a few minutes.
First, we turn to a man with a plan. The man is one Lakhdar Brahimi, a UN envoy. His plan: For the UN to form a caretaker government in Iraq. Now, the details aren't worked out but the important point it this: President Bush says he likes what he's seen of it so far. That's because it helps clear the decks for the US to end its occupation by June 30th as promised. But by ending the occupation, let's be clear here, it's a transfer of sovereignty, not an end to the US military presence. The pressure is still on the Pentagon to keep up troop strength. Here's where its recruitment is a critical factor. Given the ugly news coming out of Iraq, you would think recruitment would be down, but you'd be wrong. MARKETPLACE's Hillary Wicai reports.
HILLARY WICAI reporting:
Suzy Yates' husband is an Army cavalry scout serving in Iraq. He's been there for the last year. She says while he was there, they decided he would re-enlist for another three years.
Ms. SUZY YATES: The job security was a big factor.
WICAI: It wasn't just his job security. Suzy is a marketing assistant at her husband's post in Fort Polk, Louisiana. She loves her job, and it took her six months to find it.
Ms. YATES: If we move out of this area, I don't know if I'll be able to find a job, you know, and especially a job in my field. That had a huge impact on our decision.
WICAI: While the Yates made their decision before things got as hairy in Iraq as they are now, Suzy's confident they'd reach the same conclusion today. Defense policy analyst John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org says recruitment and retention problems have yet to materialize.
Mr. JOHN PIKE (GlobalSecurity.org): Certainly, in the past, when we've seen a really strong job market, the military has had a hard time keeping some specialties in the military. Given the slow recovery of the job market right now, I think many people think that that's been at least one factor in helping the Army recruit and retain soldiers.
WICAI: Recent reports indicate all branches of the service are either meeting or exceeding their goals as of the end of last month. But Pike says everybody is watching and waiting. Are the last couple of weeks in Iraq a temporary flare-up or the new fighting norm? Will the job market here at home get better?
Mr. PIKE: The recruiting and retention problem that the Army is worried about is a long-term problem of getting people--soldiers to serve in Iraq is going to be a complex challenge probably for the rest of the decade.
WICAI: For now, they're good to go. In Washington, I'm Hillary Wicai for MARKETPLACE.
© Copyright 2004, Minnesota Public Radio
