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Chairman of the Joint Chiefs visits L.A. recruiters

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Alfred Morehouse
  • 369th Recruiting Squadron
LOS ANGELES --  Members of the 369th Recruiting Squadron, headquartered in Encino, Calif., attended a question and answer session on recruiting with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, at the University of Southern California Sept. 22. 

Recruiters from all branches of service, including the U.S. Coast Guard, were also in attendance. Admiral Mullen started the session by praising recruiters for their successful recruiting efforts. He said that recruiting was one of the most difficult, yet most important occupations in the Department of Defense, and was especially tough in major cities like Los Angeles, his hometown. 

During the meeting with more than 100 recruiters, the Chairman discussed how each branch of service should focus on retention as a way to help with the recruiting process, reducing the number of accessions required each year; how hard recruiting was during times of war; the burden of the wartime rotation rates of each service; and the importance of families first. The Chairman said putting "families first"  was the key to better retention for the services. 

Lt. Col. James Hunsicker, 369th RCS commander, asked Admiral Mullen about future budgetary concerns. The Admiral answered "that we are very fortunate in that we usually get what we need, but that we always could use more". He also stressed the fact that "people are our most valuable resource" by highlighting that at an enormous percentage of the DoD budget is for personnel costs with a smaller amount available for discretionary spending on equipment each year. 

Finally, Admiral Mullen praised today's military as being the best at any time in our history and attributed it to the fantastic job done by each branch's recruiting effort. 

The Air Force has made it's enlisted recruiting accessions goal for the past eight years and is on track to meet it again this year.

(Lt. Col. James Hunsicker, 369th RCS commander, and Master Sgt. Richard Dimson, 369th Training non-commissioned officer, contributed to this story.)