美国国家公共电台 NPR After Falling Short, U.S. Army Gets Creative With New Recruiting Strategy

 

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

In the last fiscal¹ year, the Army fell short of its recruiting goal by 6,500 people. In part, it's driven by the 50-year lows in unemployment numbers. Often, young recruits join when they don't have a job prospect² or money for college. And so the Army is getting creative about selling itself, shifting its focus from places that traditionally fill its ranks - conservative parts of the country from Virginia through the South and into Texas - to 22 left-leaning cities across the country, like Boston, Seattle and San Francisco. Joining us now to discuss this new strategy is Gen. Frank Muth, the head of the Army Recruiting Command. Gen. Muth, thanks so much for being with us.

FRANK MUTH: Thank you so much for taking the time to have a discussion about this great topic.

FADEL: So why don't you start by telling me - what's the thinking behind this strategy? It's a pretty big pivot³.

MUTH: It's a huge pivot. So with us not making mission last year, we wanted to truly look at some of the issues that were going on to try to accomplish the mission for this year. And we started with how we were recruiting. Calling the Z Generation on the phone doesn't work anymore.

FADEL: Right.

MUTH: They want to meet us online first, find out, one, if - are we a bot that's just probing them for information? Or are we a real person? And once that dialogue starts online, then it leads to a discussion on the phone. And then that leads to an interview. And it all starts with providing information about, you know, the Army's got 150 different jobs. There's the GI Bill when they get out to pay for college - all the different benefits for serving the military. But it has to start with reaching the Z Generation on the digital plane.

FADEL: So when you're shifting to these urban areas, is there anything you're doing specifically to talk to urban minorities about this, especially at a time where the military's being leaned on at the border and that get sometimes seen as part of a politicized, racially motivated fight between the administration and his opponents?

MUTH: Yeah, no. You know, the recruiters talk about the opportunities that exist in the Army, all the different specialties⁴, all the different training, the qualifications that you get while you're in the Army and what you leave with.

FADEL: In urban spaces, among women, among minority communities who must ask questions about issues of racism⁵ and sexism in the military, what do your recruiters say to those questions?

MUTH: You know, I'm sure they tell stories that are very positive. I mean, because, you know, we don't hear about it. So they tell their Army story, essentially⁶.

FADEL: But there are stories where certain communities are treated differently at times. And I'm just wondering how they allay⁷ those fears and how they say you are also welcome.

MUTH: You know, I'm not going to put words in their mouths. But I would suspect that they say...

FADEL: How would you do it?

MUTH: How would I do it?

FADEL: Mmm hmm.

MUTH: There is a very, very low percentage of those incidents or events that occur. But know this - that it's one team. And if any of that occurs, it is immediately addressed by the chain of command because, one, we want to create a safe and secure environment and dignity and respect for everybody in the United States Army. So that is pervasive⁸ throughout the commands.

FADEL: The other thing is, you know, the military's been mired⁹ in wars for a lot of this generation's lives - right? - Iraq, Afghanistan, the longest-running war. Is it a difficult sell because - if there is real danger for young people that will be going out there to possibly die for their country?

MUTH: You're right. That's out there. It's a very small percentage that are, one, participating and, two, that participate in direct combat operations alone.

FADEL: Right.

MUTH: There is risk in anything. But it's a low risk in terms of being part of the direct combat fight.

FADEL: So what's the number you need to reach this year?

MUTH: We're still working on that. It won't be 76,500, which was our mission last year. I think it's going to be a lower number.

FADEL: Gen. Frank Muth of the Army Recruiting Command, thank you so much.

MUTH: It has been my honor and pleasure. And thank you for the time.

1 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

2 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

3 pivot   

v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的

参考例句：

• She is the central pivot of creation and represents the feminine aspect in all things.她是创造的中心枢轴，表现出万物的女性面貌。
• If a spring is present,the hand wheel will pivot on the spring.如果有弹簧，手轮的枢轴会装在弹簧上。

4 specialties   

n.专门，特性，特别；专业( specialty的名词复数 )；特性；特制品；盖印的契约

参考例句：

• Great Books are popular, not pedantic. They are not written by specialists about specialties for specialists. 名著绝不引经据典，艰深难懂，而是通俗易读。它们不是专家为专业人员撰写的专业书籍。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• Brain drains may represent a substantial reduction in some labor force skills and specialties. 智力外流可能表示某种劳动力技能和特长大量减少。 来自辞典例句

5 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

6 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

7 allay   

v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等)

参考例句：

• The police tried to allay her fears but failed.警察力图减轻她的恐惧，但是没有收到什么效果。
• They are trying to allay public fears about the spread of the disease.他们正竭力减轻公众对这种疾病传播的恐惧。

8 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

9 mired   

abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德（色温单位）v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country was mired in recession. 这个国家陷入了经济衰退的困境。
• The most brilliant leadership can be mired in detail. 最有才干的领导也会陷于拘泥琐事的困境中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》