RESERVIST MAGAZINE THE VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE A s we near the end of this fiscal year, we know the Coast Guard won’t be able to recruit enough enlisted personnel to meet Service requirements defined in the Enlisted Training and Accession Plan for the third consecutive year. The problem is not unique to the Coast Guard. All the armed services are still learning ways to communicate with this generation of young Americans who may not yet have considered the path of military service. The COVID-19 pandemic compounded the problem because our recruiters weren’t able to visit high schools and engage in their normal recruiting activities with young Americans. In a message to the Coast Guard in May, Adm. Karl Schultz said, “I am calling on every Rear Admiral David C. Barata Commander, Personnel Service Center member of our Coast Guard military, civilian, Auxiliary, retiree, and family to put forth a maximum effort to recruit the workforces of our future.” Vice Adm. Paul Thomas, Deputy Commandant for Mission Support, and Dr. Mischell Navarro, CG-1, Assistant Commandant for Human Resources, reinforced and embodied the call to action by establishing the Recruiting Incident Management Team (IMT). The article on page 8 by Lt. Juwana describes the IMT’s three initial actions, which increased awareness of the problem and built momentum for Coast Guard recruiting. In August, the IMT began expanding and evolved the Incident Action Plan to three broader lines of effort (LOE); (1) generate more leads, (2) improve recruiting processes, and (3) increase recruiting performance and capacity. The IMT continues to collect suggestions and ideas to improve recruiting, and organizing them within these new LOEs. 1. Generate More Leads. We want to fully engage the Coast Guard workforce, external stakeholders, and the American public to produce more applications. It includes launching a new Coast Guard recruiting brand (logo and slogan) with a strong marketing surge designed to connect with young people on the social media platforms they use. The “Everyone Is A Recruiter” (EIAR) program, unit recruiting liaisons, and various “recruiting challenges” are all part of this. “The problem is not unique to the Coast Guard. All the armed services are still learning new ways to communicate with this generation of young Americans who may not yet have considered the path of military service.” 6 RESERVIST � Issue 3 • 2022 2. Improve Recruiting Processes. The second LOE will analyze our existing processes and then implement changes to make the enlisted recruiting system better. It includes preparing CGRC for the new “Gangway” IT system that will move Coast Guard recruiting from a stack of papers to a mobile app. This LOE will systematically reduce and eliminate bottlenecks in the process. 3. Increase Recruiting Performance and Capacity. This LOE will maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of our recruiting workforce. We do not have recruiting offices in some key markets, so are shifting and adding resources to cover those gaps. The prior-trained recruiter surge operations are also part of this LOE. As you can see, we’re building a bigger and better recruiting machine, but a huge part of our success depends on getting leads. This is where you can help! Generation Z’s definition of “serving” doesn’t automatically align with traditional military service; they want to work in careers that positively impact the world, and they’re focused on solving problems. Fortunately, that’s where the Coast Guard’s unique missions DO align with what Generation Z wants, particularly environmental protection, pollution response, and lifesaving. We need you to tell our story! Talk about the Coast Guard as you interact with your friends, and tell our story as you volunteer and work in your community. Share your “best day in the Coast Guard” story if someone is interested, and keep your local recruiting office’s contact information in your phone so you can easily connect them with a recruiter. (The “Find a Recruiter” feature on the GoCoastGuard.com website identifies phone number and email address of recruiters by zip code.) We added the $500 bonus option to give you an incentive. Do you have a question or suggestion about how to improve Coast Guard recruiting? Contact us at [email protected], and help us find our future shipmates. Semper Paratus.
