And, you know, I think you potentially could be a good Marine. “I say, ‘Hey, ever thought about being Marine? We’re a bunch of Marines. She acknowledged that the first time she was picked for a recruiting job she was “voluntold.” But now, recounting her sales pitch in Atlanta, her rapid fire pitch comes without taking a breath. “That’s why they got selected, because they were above their peers.” “We put our best and brightest in those positions,” said Nash, adding that those chosen for recruiting posts have a proven track record of success in previous assignments and have demonstrated critical leadership skills. Many three- and four-star Marines, including former Defense Secretary James Mattis, will cite their years doing enlistment duty. Nash, who until June was assistant chief of staff for the Eastern region, said Marines are hand-selected for recruiting command jobs. More important, he said, the Corps maintains its focus on choosing the right recruiters, encouraging successful ones to stay in the job and increasing the number of Marine reservists tapped for recruit duties from the current 31 to 96 by the end of next year. Marine leaders, however, do not take those lowest scoring recruits, and so far have no plans for any type of formal improvement program such as the Army’s.įield said the Marines are repositioning recruiting stations, moving them around based on where population totals have increased in the latest census. The Navy is taking another route with a pilot program that allows up to 20% of its recruits to score below 30 on the test, as long as they meet specific standards for their chosen naval job. Already more than 8,800 recruits have successfully gone through the classes, raised their scores and moved on to basic training. That is a widespread problem, but the Army recently set up a program that targets recruits who score below 30 on the test and provides schooling for several weeks to help them pass.

Sitting in the shadow of the Parris Island, South Carolina, replica of the Iwo Jima monument, Field said his biggest challenge is that a number of Marine hopefuls cannot pass the military’s academic test, known as the Armed Services Voluntary Aptitude Battery. Air Force and Navy officials say they will also miss their goals, although the Space Force, which is the smallest service and does its recruiting within Air Force stations, is expected to meet its goal of about 500 recruits. The Army, for example, has a recruiting goal of 65,0, which is nearly double the Corps’, and expects to fall substantially short of that. The Marine Corps may get some help from its small size. “I’m bearish for not only concluding FY23 on a strong footing, but also how we set the conditions for FY24.” “That would be a great ending,” said Field, speaking to The Associated Press on a recent steamy day at South Carolina’s Parris Island, along the Atlantic Coast. In 2022, the Navy, Air Force and Marines had to eat into their pools of delayed entry applicants in order to make their goals. More broadly, Marine officials say they expect the Corps to achieve its recruiting target of more than 33,000. He said his recruiters - who cover the territory between Canada and Puerto Rico and as far west as Mississippi - will meet their mission and expect to have 30% of their 2024 goal when they start the next fiscal year, Oct.

11 marine corps general orders