I__. - International Military Testing Association

USAREC commanders in the field takes a 6 month lead time and is, in the aggregate,
influenced by the accession mission. However, the accession flow to the training base is
controlled by USAREC headquarters and at the Department of the Army level. In other
words, the recruiting commanders are not greatly influenced by gyrations in the monthly
accession requirements.
The influence of the market, incentives, recruiter tools, economic environment but
especially recent recruiting history drive the aggregate numbers. USAREC deals with
Reception Station Months (RSM) vice Calendar months. The RSM allows flexibility for
shipping recruits to the 8 (7 after closing of FT. Bliss Reception Battalion) reception
battalions. Conversion of RSM to Calendar numbers is not an accurate science since it is
based on projected rate of shipping during each RSW (week). The conversion is important
to identify the costs of each calendar month which is determined by manyear costs prorated
by months of the year. Present dollar amount for one full year is $17,657. Thus if 5,000
recruits are shipped (now referred to as accessions) in March, the sixth month of the fiscal
year, this number equates to a cost of 5,000 x 6/12 or 2,500 X $17,657 and is $44,142,500
in MPA cost. On the whole the conversion has been relatively accurate.
Budgetary requirements to save Military Personnel Account (MPA) dollars tend to
influence greatly the enlisted accession requirements. For instance, large amounts of MPA
dollars can be saved simply by shifting accessions from the beginning of a year to the end
of the year. Movement of accessions to the 4th quarter has been done for the last few
years and is already included in the FY91 accession requirements by calendar month.
Ironically, this shift to the 4th quarter does not cause USAREC as much concern as it does
TRADOC. The major cuts to the Army budget in the form of dollars and endstrength have
a significant impact on the adjustments to the accession programs for the current and future
years.
USAREC preference is for the following quarterly RSM breakdown:
Quarter Percentage
FIRST 21-23
SECOND 22
THIRD 19
FOURTH 37
First and fourth quarters are the best when considering the market. Some dynamics to
consider here, which are hidden in the numbers, include the fact that high quality soldiers
are easier to enlist with shorter Terms of Service (TOS), the size of next year’s mission
influences recruit entry into the DEP (Delayed Entry Program), and the higher the
aggregate quality goals the tougher the recruiting (unless resources for recruiting are
commensurately increased).
TRADOC prefers an even flow into training at the rate of 8.3% per month of input
from USAREC. They have stated that the surge of training requirements in the fourth
quarters are near impossible to handle. The contention is based on 4th quarter surge which
includes Active, Reserve and National Guard. Acknowledging that even-flow is impossible,
the fourth quarter surges, closing on 40%, are not resource supportable, especially with the
first three quarters under capacity. It should be noted that the Army is looking at feasibility
of clustering or combining certain MOS, eliminating MOS, consolidating training,
eliminating BT/AIT/Reception Battalions (e.g., FT. Bliss) and this, although long term, will
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