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1,106 soldiers ordered back to recruiting duty

The Army is immediately ordering 1,106 former recruiters back to that duty. The soldiers are being pulled from their current assignments and sent to recruiting stations across the nation as the army struggles to meet its mission in signing up 80,000 new soldiers this year.

The short-notice assignments are temporary — they begin Friday and will run no later than Oct. 15.

The names of soldiers detailed to these assignments can be accessed using an Army Knowledge Online username and password by clicking here.

Soldiers also will be notified of their assignments via an AKO message, and by garrison command and personnel officials.

The recruiting assignments will be performed in temporary duty (TDY) status, and soldiers will return to home stations and regular assignments after completing their recruiting duties.

Noncommissioned officers selected for these assignments will be eligible for Recruiting Command’s $2,000 Referral Bonus Program.

This means the soldiers are authorized a $2,000 bonus for every applicant who successfully processes into the Army and completes initial entry training.

Personnel officials recommend that soldiers register for the referral program before they begin their recruiting assignments.

Soldiers can register with a common access card at http://www.2k.army.mil/.

This surprise program comes at a time that Army recruiting has fallen on hard times.

The service missed its active-duty recruiting goal by 16 percent in June, the worst showing in two years. The shortfall was particularly worrisome to Army leaders because the summer, after students have graduated high school, typically is the best recruiting season.

While recruiters are running at 101 percent of their year-to-date mission of 51,150, Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey recently cautioned that the recruiting environment is “very difficult.”

The fiscal 2007 mission, which ends Sept. 30, requires Recruiting Command to generate at least 30,000 enlistments during the remainder of the summer. Included in that fourth quarter mission are enlistments for July, which have not yet been tallied.

Casey, who spoke during a recent town hall meeting at Fort Bliss, Texas, said more advertising and new programs are being developed to boost the recruiting effort.

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