No recruits on the North Olympic Peninsula have taken the Army up on a $20,000 “quick ship” bonus.
In June, the Army began offering a $20,000 enlistment bonus to recruits willing to go to basic training within 30 days of enlistment.
That offer is credited with helping the Army exceed its national recruiting goal of 9,600 soldiers in August by 528.
But on the North Olympic Peninsula, the allure of fast cash hasn’t worked as a recruiting tool for the military’s largest branch.
“It’s definitely a challenge this year,” said Sgt. James Thomas, the Army recruiter in Port Angeles.
This year, 11 people from Clallam County qualified to enlist in the Army, and none of them took advantage of the $20,000 bonus offered this summer, Thomas said.
At the Army’s recruiting office in Silverdale, which covers eastern Jefferson County and much of Kitsap County, about 30 recruits out of 118 who signed contracts took advantage of the bonus, said Sgt. Jason Montano.
But none came from Jefferson County.
“We really don’t get too many enlistments from Port Townsend,” Montano said.
“Right now, off the top of my head, I want to say zero.”
Montano said two recruits this year have come from Chimacum, and neither received the bonus.
But despite low numbers of recruits from Jefferson County, Montano’s office has enlisted more soldiers than any other office in Washington or Alaska this year.
A big part of Silverdale’s success is the naval presence in Bremerton, Montano said.
Tough to find recruits
The Army’s summer quick-ship bonus is expected to end at the end of September, when the fiscal year is over.
The bonus is one of many incentives that can total more than $100,000, including student loan repayment and other enlistment bonuses.
Despite the offers, Thomas said finding good recruits in Clallam County is “like finding a needle in a haystack.”
“The propensity to join the military is down,” he said.
“I have yet to experience coming to the office and there is a line waiting to the join the Army.”
Thomas said the Army’s standards for education, clean criminal backgrounds, good medical condition and aptitude testing eliminate some would-be recruits.
Montano said the biggest thing that keeps those interested from rural eastern Jefferson County from joining the Army is their scores on aptitude tests.
“Think of us as a major corporation,” Montano said.
“We want the best and the brightest.
“Young country kids that like the outdoors and hunting are very patriotic, but one of the things we come across is the education system, and meeting the minimum [aptitude] requirements,” he added.
“One of the biggest things is the lack of credibility behind a high school diploma.”
Recruiting during a time of war, is also a hurdle for recruiters, they said.
“It takes a lot of commitment to step forward doing that,” Thomas said.
“We are at war.
“There is no safe job. If you’re willing to join the Army, be prepared to go to Afghanistan or Iraq.”
Montano said that, in Kitsap County, the $20,000 bonus has prompted recruits to join who were otherwise “sitting on the fence.”
But both Thomas and Montano agreed that once enlisted, the enlistment bonuses are not at the forefront of a soldier’s mind.
“Yes it’s great to get a bonus. Yes it’s great to get job opportunities,” Thomas said.
“But when you’re deployed, you think about the bigger thing of what you’re doing.”
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Reporter Randy Trick can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at randy.trick@peninsuladailynews.com.
