High School Graduation and Recruiting in Easley: Analytical Essay

Recruiting in Easley, South Carolina

My name is SSG Dillon Bennett, and my paper is going to cover the recruiting market of Easley, South Carolina (SC) and Easley High School. Easley, SC is a rural area in Anderson County located in the upstate of South Carolina. Easley High School is a Tier One public school that is accredited in the state of South Carolina. The purpose of this paper is to break down my plan to conduct school programs and recruiting practices for the purpose of recruiting qualified applicants into the South Carolina Army National Guard (SCARING).

Demographics

The demographics for Easley, SC consist of 21,240 citizens. Of the 21,240 citizens, 35 percent are between the ages of 17 and 34. This is important to my recruiting plan because that means a little over 7,000 citizens of Easley, SC is potential applicants for the SCANG. In Easley, SC, 85 percent of the citizens have graduated high school. About 25 percent of students go on to complete at least a bachelor’s degree following high school. Easley High School does not administer the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) at the school. The average score for the SAT is 1100 and the average ACT score is 24. Easley High School has a graduation rate of 82 percent. The education information is important because it shows that a high percentage of the citizens are qualified for enlistment when it comes to education, with a large percentage of the high school graduates have continued their education and earned a graduate degree. This can be useful because we have a shortage of officer applicants in the state and recruiting more officer candidates could be an area of focus throughout the year. Easley High School does not have an ROTC program available for students to take part in. Easley SC has an unemployment rate of 3.5 percent and 12 percent of the citizens are without health insurance.

School Program

School Programs offered at Easley High School include football, baseball, basketball, lacrosse, wrestling, and volleyball. Providing the players and staff with team building and strength management activities has proved to be critical when building relationships with the team. The teams really enjoy it when we provide them with Warrior Fit and other physically taxing activities that enhance their physical fitness and improve their performance. Easley High School does not have a JROTC that would facilitate entry into the school. I also plan of being in my school at least twice a week conducting lunch room displays, talking with students and building relationships with the students so that I can be more approachable when I am there. I want to provide the school and students with valuable classes that will help them build a better life and career for them once they graduate high school.

Recruiting and Sustainment Plan

My first quarter’s primary focus for recruiting is the seniors of Easley High School. Easley High School has a senior class of 254 students making it easier to talk and mentor the majority of the students about SCARING. Support of the military shown by Easley High School makes my job as a recruiter a lot easier. By doing lunch room displays, warrior fit for the sports teams and informational classes will help break the ice with the students. I feel welcomed when administering classes and presentations to the students. My secondary mission for the first quarter is to focus on high school graduates and college students, especially the ones that recently graduated who still have friends at Easley High School. In my first quarter, I am going to focus more on college freshmen who are just starting their first year of college and realize just how expensive school is going to be over the next four years. I want to show college students the benefit of being in the SCARING as a Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP) as well as the benefits of joining the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC). My tertiary market for the first quarter is to focus on talking with and educating the prior service soldiers and the soldiers assigned to my unit Inactive Ready Reserves (IRR) who are on the fence about coming back into the SCARING. Soldiers who have been out of the National Guard less than a year tend to be more accepting of reenlisting due to missing the bonds that they build while serving with the same group of soldiers for multiple years.

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Place Order

My second quarter’s primary focus is going to be the high school juniors of Easley High School. I will focus on showing the benefit of joining SCARING as a high school junior and explain to them how they can be paid for two years of service while still attending high school. Along with the monetary benefits of being in the SCARING as a high school student, I like to show them that by the time they complete their training and high school their contract will be roughly 33 percent complete and they would be non-deployable through that time period. My secondary focus of the second quarter is to continue talking with the college students in my area, showing them all the ways that SCARING can help pay for college, and show how they can come out of college debt free and have a career in SCARING. My tertiary focus for the second quarter is going to consist of talking with the units in my area and getting information on the soldiers in the IRR. I will conduct weekly contacts of the IRR soldiers and conduct monthly talks with the units that I am assigned to find out the concerns of the soldiers who completed their service and how we help to get them back in.

My third quarter’s primary mission is to focus on my high school seniors, assisting with determining how they can pay for college, especially the ones who did not receive the scholarships or grants that were hoping for. I also want to focus on the students who in the past have been on the fence about whether or not the SCARING would be a good fit for them. My secondary mission for the second quarter is to focus on the high school juniors who are still on the fence but are still able to ship to basic training over the summer break. My tertiary mission for the third quarter is to continue to focus on my units and the IRR. I also want to focus more on the prior service members who have more than 8 years and no longer have a mandatory service obligation by showing them that they can enlist for shorter periods of time. I also want to take some time to visit the VFWs and get back into my community and visit with fellow veterans who may be eligible to reenlist.

My fourth quarter’s primary mission is to focus on contacting, and interviewing the glossary non-prior service applicants. I plan on doing this by contacting a minimum of 10 a week and finding out what is holding them back from fulfilling the original enlistment. My secondary mission for the fourth quarter is to get back in touch with the high school juniors who are now rising seniors to see what is causing them to have hesitation on joining. Over the summer I plan on attending the sports camps, running warrior fit with the teams that are practicing over the summer break such as football and baseball. I also plan of meeting with the guidance counselors and other staff to prepare for the next school year. I want to ensure that I am able to support Easley High School in any way that benefits both the school and my mission. My tertiary mission for the fourth quarter is to get in contact with the high school seniors who I was talking with prior to the end of the school year and see where they are at with their life. At this time a lot of high school seniors who have graduated are starting to figure out that life is expensive. My goal is to help show these graduates how scary can help them make money, go to college, and have a career.

Recruiter Zone

The utilization of the Recruiter Zone (RZ) is very important to maintain contact with the schools, students, and anyone whom I have talked with over the course of the year. Being able to set appointments, and follow up with contacts in one place is crucial to mission success. Using Recruiter Zone in conjunction with School Zone is going to help not only in the current year but in the future, especially when going to a school that has not been kept up with in School Zone in the past. Being able to view everything together while adding the calendar events for Easley, SC will help me maintain focus and come to work ready to be successful every day.

Conclusion

In conclusion, knowing the market of Easley, SC, and the demographics of Easley High School, along with the help of Recruiter Zone is going to set me up for success as a recruiter. By applying the tools I have been given and evolving my plan as time goes on, I will be pushed to be the best that I can be. Without a recruiter zone or a plan in place, I will set myself up for failure. By taking the time to be involved in both my school and the city of Easley, I will learn what I can do to have the greatest impact on the lives that I touch every day.

References

1. (n.d.). Easley High School Test Scores and Academics. Retrieved from https://www.niche.com/k12/easley-high-school-easley-sc/academics/
2. (2019). Army National Guard Strength Maintenance Program. Arlington, VA: Department of Defense National Guard Bureau.
3. US Census Bureau. (n.d.). Census.gov. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/
4. Bennett, D. J. (2019, August 12). Target Market Analysis. Easley, SC
5. (n.d.). Recruiter Zone, School Zone. Retrieved from krome.usaac.army.mil/