LEILA FADEL, HOST:
In the last fiscal year, the Army fell short of its recruiting goal by 6,500 people. In part, it's driven by the 50-year lows in unemployment numbers. Often, young recruits join when they don't have a job prospect or money for college. And so the Army is getting creative about selling itself, shifting its focus from places that traditionally fill its ranks - conservative parts of the country from Virginia through the South and into Texas - to 22 left-leaning cities across the country, like Boston, Seattle and San Francisco. Joining us now to discuss this new strategy is Gen. Frank Muth, the head of the Army Recruiting Command. Gen. Muth, thanks so much for being with us.
FRANK MUTH: Thank you so much for taking the time to have a discussion about this great topic.
FADEL: So why don't you start by telling me - what's the thinking behind this strategy? It's a pretty big pivot.
MUTH: It's a huge pivot. So with us not making mission last year, we wanted to truly look at some of the issues that were going on to try to accomplish the mission for this year. And we started with how we were recruiting. Calling the Z Generation on the phone doesn't work anymore.
FADEL: Right.
MUTH: They want to meet us online first, find out, one, if - are we a bot that's just probing them for information? Or are we a real person? And once that dialogue starts online, then it leads to a discussion on the phone. And then that leads to an interview. And it all starts with providing information about, you know, the Army's got 150 different jobs. There's the GI Bill when they get out to pay for college - all the different benefits for serving the military. But it has to start with reaching the Z Generation on the digital plane.
FADEL: So when you're shifting to these urban areas, is there anything you're doing specifically to talk to urban minorities about this, especially at a time where the military's being leaned on at the border and that get sometimes seen as part of a politicized, racially motivated fight between the administration and his opponents?
MUTH: Yeah, no. You know, the recruiters talk about the opportunities that exist in the Army, all the different specialties, all the different training, the qualifications that you get while you're in the Army and what you leave with.
FADEL: In urban spaces, among women, among minority communities who must ask questions about issues of racism and sexism in the military, what do your recruiters say to those questions?
MUTH: You know, I'm sure they tell stories that are very positive. I mean, because, you know, we don't hear about it. So they tell their Army story, essentially.
FADEL: But there are stories where certain communities are treated differently at times. And I'm just wondering how they allay those fears and how they say you are also welcome.
MUTH: You know, I'm not going to put words in their mouths. But I would suspect that they say...
FADEL: How would you do it?
MUTH: How would I do it?
FADEL: Mmm hmm.
MUTH: There is a very, very low percentage of those incidents or events that occur. But know this - that it's one team. And if any of that occurs, it is immediately addressed by the chain of command because, one, we want to create a safe and secure environment and dignity and respect for everybody in the United States Army. So that is pervasive throughout the commands.
FADEL: The other thing is, you know, the military's been mired in wars for a lot of this generation's lives - right? - Iraq, Afghanistan, the longest-running war. Is it a difficult sell because - if there is real danger for young people that will be going out there to possibly die for their country?
MUTH: You're right. That's out there. It's a very small percentage that are, one, participating and, two, that participate in direct combat operations alone.
FADEL: Right.
MUTH: There is risk in anything. But it's a low risk in terms of being part of the direct combat fight.
FADEL: So what's the number you need to reach this year?
MUTH: We're still working on that. It won't be 76,500, which was our mission last year. I think it's going to be a lower number.
FADEL: Gen. Frank Muth of the Army Recruiting Command, thank you so much.
MUTH: It has been my honor and pleasure. And thank you for the time.