Marine Corps Recruit the Recruiter Campaign delivers more than 800 volunteers

Photo By Lance Cpl. Kindo Go | This photo illustration poster is designed to inform and grab attention prospective recruiting volunteers.  

QUANTICO, VA, UNITED STATES

03.31.2022

Story by Lance Cpl. Payton Goodrich 

Marine Corps Recruiting Command           

The Marine Corps' first Recruit the Recruiter campaign has produced more than 800 Marines to recruit the next generation of Marines.

The campaign is designed to help incentivize the most qualified Non-Commissioned Officers in the Marine Corps to volunteer to become recruiters to help find, and accession goals set by the National Defense Strategy.

"The Recruit the Recruiter Campaign has benefitted Marine Corps Recruiting Command by joining Marines with a passion for the duty and an increased drive for their and our command's success,” said Major General. Jason Q. Bohm, the Commanding General of MCRC. “It has also greatly reduced the number of Marines that need to be screened for Special Duty Assignments. The campaign has resulted in hundreds of Marines being returned to the fleet to fill the ranks of the Marine Corps' operational units, increasing unit readiness and the lethality of our Corps."

The Special Duty Assignment Team conduct a selection and screening program to identify most qualified Marines to go on either recruiting, drill instructor or the Marine Corps Embassy Security Guard duty. Recruiting relied heavily on this program in the past to fill more than 2000 recruiter billets. Being selected for recruiting duty takes Marines outside their military occupational specialty and they perform the duty or three years. The screening process locks down thousands of Marines do the administrative burden of screening all of these Marines.

"Although all of our recruiters are professionals, our research showed that it takes fewer volunteers to make a successful recruiter. It stands to reason that those Marines and their families who volunteer for this important duty will likely be more invested in their success," said Bohm." Approaching a mission with a happy heart and a happy family can lead to greater mission attainment and a better quality of life."

The new incentives include: allowing volunteers to pick which recruiting station they are assigned and a $10,000 bonus to become a recruiter.

"I think the Recruiting Station Incentives is the game-changer," Gunnery Sgt. Matthew Mahovich the recruiting Monitor for the Enlisted Assignment Branch or MMEA said.

The new RSI allows volunteers to pick one of the 48 RS locations spread across the country.

"Last year, we had 440 volunteers, and this year we almost doubled that number," said Master Gunnery Sergeant. Jared L. Cobb, the MCRC Operations Chief.

Currently, there are more than 800 volunteers and that number is still growing by 10 to 20 every week. More Marines have volunteered during this campaign than in the entire 12-month-long volunteer period in past years.
"The goal was a six percent increase through 2026," said Mahovich, “We are already at an 11% increase this year."

The partnership between MCRC and MMEA may be the key to the campaign’s success. Their combined effort in raising awareness in the right Marines about recruiting duty is a large part of the success of this campaign.
"We had teams on both coasts going door to door to different Marine Corps units selling and telling them why they should be volunteers for recruiting duty," said Cobb.

Due the high Volunteerism level, no change or new incentives are expected for the next few years to determine how well these incentives will hold up and see if they remain a driving factor toward volunteering for recruiting duty.
"We put all our chips in one basket for this year and said let's give them everything, so we are going to try and duplicate FY 22's efforts through FY 24," said Cobb. "After a few classes start in FY 23, we will go back to the drawing board for FY 25. It's been an amazing collaboration between the Marines of MCRC and MMEA; focused on an increase in volunteerism to help the institution and to help the Marine Corps."

• Date Taken: 03.31.2022
• Date Posted: 03.31.2022 13:47
• Story ID: 417574
• Location: QUANTICO, VA, US