SAN ANTONIO – Representatives from many sectors of business, politics, and education welcomed Maj. Gen. Allen W. Batschelet, commanding general, United States Army Recruiting Command, during a breakfast at Aldaco’s, Sunset Station in San Antonio Jan. 3, 2014.
Batschelet, in town for the 2014 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, met with the San Antonio Community Action Committee, which works with Army recruiters here to open doors and arrange meetings to help the recruitment process.
Their main goal is to support the San Antonio Recruiting Battalion in the community. Four subcommittees cover different sectors of the community reported to Batschelet about their efforts and successes for 2013.
Representatives from various companies and organizations – including the Girl Scouts of the United States of America – allow the committee to contribute to the Army recruiters by using their unique resources and connections to spread the Army message.
“Our mission is to support the Army,” said Findley Brewster, chairman of the SACAC, “the Army and nothing else, and we have what is needed to get things done.”
One of the most important objectives of the committee is the work done with schools who are closed to the idea of letting recruiters talk to their students inside their halls.
Brewster says they will be more open to someone in a suit than someone in a uniform.
Brewster knows this well, being a retired colonel in the Army. He continues to serve the Army as a Reserve ambassador, a job that entails spreading the message of the Army Reserve.
After hearing all the work being done in the community, Batschelet stood up and expressed his appreciation for the work being done by the committee. He went on to comment how vital efforts, like those of the SACAC, are for the Army.
“The Army is shrinking,” said Batschelet, “but that doesn’t mean we stop recruiting. It is as important as ever.”