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WASHINGTON -- The Army Reserve has reversed a serious recruiting drought by significantly increasing the amount of cash bonuses it pays to recruit and keep soldiers to bolster ranks thinned by five years of war in Iraq.
In 2007, it paid out $315 million in recruiting and retention bonuses. That's a 46% increase over 2006. That year, the Reserve paid $216 million in bonuses while falling 5% short of its recruiting goal.
Army reservists play critical roles in supporting combat troops. They drive trucks in supply convoys, provide security as military police and staff hospitals as doctors and nurses. Reserve civil affairs specialists help set up police and fire departments and local governments, key efforts in stabilizing countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
In 2007, the Army Reserve was one of four Reserve components that hit or exceeded its 2007 recruiting and retention goals. It recruited 229 more soldiers than its goal of 35,505.
That represents the most recruits among the four Reserve branches. The Reserve units for the Navy, Marines and Air Force had annual goals ranging from 6,800 to 10,600 recruits.
One new incentive, the "critical skills retention bonus," targets captains with key specialties, such as combat engineers, intelligence officers and chaplains. They can earn up to $20,000 for serving another three years.
Truck drivers and health care professionals make up a large part of the Reserve force, said Lt. Gen. Jack Stultz, chief of the Army Reserve. That's why the Reserve is launching partnerships with trucking firms and hospitals to guarantee recruits jobs after they serve, he said. The Reserve also has a program to help doctors and nurses repay student loans. Stultz wants to increase the repayment amount.
"If you're going to ask a doctor or a nurse to sacrifice some of their time," we need to say we're going to help repay their loans, he said.
Although the money has helped the Reserve meet its recruiting goals, the ever-increasing bonuses cannot be sustained, said Christine Wormuth, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former Pentagon official. "Pretty soon we won't be able to afford the force," she said.
Wormuth said the prospect of repeated deployments -- "the Iraq effect" -- means that finding and keeping good soldiers will continue to be tough for the Reserve.
Reserve forces need to adjust policies to attract professionals, she said. For instance, basic military training could be reduced to attract middle-aged medical professionals who would be treating patients and not be engaged in combat.
