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The ultimate warfighting team The land-based component of America's "joint warfighting team," the U.S. Army is determined to use technology to prepare itself for the challenges of the next century. It calls itself the world's best army, a full-spectrum force trained and ready for victory. Despite such self-aggrandizing statements, after a decade and a half of budget cuts, the Army is faced with increased financial pressure due to increasing deployment and growing modernization costs. Force XXI How does the world's best-equipped military force redefine itself to adapt to the "new world order?" The U.S. Army thinks it has found the answer in Force XXI. The process includes reorganizing the Army's structure, reviewing regulations, and implementing the latest technologies in order to augment its defense, reconnaissance, peacekeeping, and disaster relief prowess. General Eric Shinseki is transformed the Army into a standard design "with internetted command, communications, and intelligence packages" that will enable a brigade to get to any combat site in the world within 96 hours. Shinseki is on a mission to trim down the Army of all its fuel, parts, and cargo space, making units more agile. Don't ask, don't tell One pressing issue for the Army - and the rest of the U.S. military for that matter - is the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, established by the Clinton administration in 1993. According to the policy, service members are dismissed and lose their pension rights if they admit to being gay, attempt to or engage in homosexual conduct, or marry or attempt to marry someone of the same sex. In 1997 Eastern District Judge Eugene H. Nickerson, struck down the policy, remarking that "the Constitution does not grant the Military special license to act on prejudices or cater to them." However, in September of the following year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit unanimously voted to reverse the ruling, claiming that the policy "is needed for unit cohesion, morale and discipline." The Federal government is now reviewing that reversal, but prospects seem dim. The U.S. Supreme Court has already refused to consider three previous challenges to the policy. The Amry has also taken a lot of heat over the years for its sexual inequalities. In response to a number of sexual harrassment suits, the Army has been working to improve its equal opportunity program. Initiatives include publishing sexual harrassment and sexual assault prevention handbooks, starting a Consideration of Others program, adding a week to basic training to teach the integration of Army values training into soldiers overall duties, and opening a new equal opportunities school in Arkansas, among others. Attracting minorities Army Secretary Louis Caldera was nominated by President Clinton and inaugurated in July 1998. Along with other Army officials, Caldera has been carefully reviewing pay and retirement issues to see whether there is a link between these factors and the Army's decreasing ability to recruit and retain soldiers. He has also made considerable efforts to attract minorities to the army. As the first Hispanic to hold his post, Caldera is particularly interested in attracting other Hispanics. Though they constitute the largest minority group under age 18 in the country - and will make up a quarter of America's population in the next century, Hispanics remain grossly underrepresented in the military. Attracting anybody The Army needs you. The Army needs recruits, period. Today's youth doesn't seem to be as interested in military service as the youth of yesteryear, so the Army is trying different angles to attract the next generation, mainly by highlighting the educational opportunities it offers. By partnering with career opportunities web site jobs.com, the Army is making the possibility of receiving up to $70,000 for college more widely known among 18-24 year olds. The Army has also expanded its JROTC program to an additional 50 high schools, encouraging young people to learn, lead, and hopefully someday enter the armed forces. Another teen outreach program includes a partnership with Job Corps, a residential program for at-risk youth ages 16-24, to gain more recruits. Fully operational Most recently, Army forces were deployed to Panama for Operation Just Cause, to Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Storm, and to Haiti for Operation Restore Democracy. Following the ceasefire in the former Yugoslavia, the Army sent Task Force Eagle to enforce the Dayton Peace Accords. Currently, the Army has over 100,000 soldiers stationed in locations such as Kuwait, Honduras, Sinai, Macedonia, and nearly 80 other countries. While adapting to the changing times, the Army is focusing on being able to defend the country and its interests from the threats of a modern world: terrorism, narcotics running, ethnic cleansing, and rampant nationalism. U.S. soldiers have also been involved in domestic disaster relief work.
For the best information on opportunities with the Army or Army Reserve, applicants should consult the Army's recruiting web page, located at www.goarmy.com. The web page has a complete listing of regional recruiting centers, which handle all of the Army's hiring. The web page offers links to specialized army divisions, such as Army Chaplains or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (www.usace.army.mil). College graduates also have the opportunity to apply for officer positions. The Army's national job hotline, (800) USA-ARMY, offers additional information on recruitment procedures.
Dictatorship? The Army is well known for its "high standards" and "rigid culture." "It's not a corporation or even a democracy," one source explains, "it's more like a dictatorship." "The U.S. Army is not a job," agrees another contact, "it's a life - and one that's extremely demanding." One tired contact divulges, "you work a lot of hours, and salaries are lower than most any other civilian job with similar responsibilities. Fortunately, you get most weekends off and 30 days paid vacation every year." Before dawn... Soldiers say they "get up before dawn most days, and home after dark." And while the dress code is "unforgiving," insiders point out that they "never have to think about what to put on in the morning." But the "number one fact you have to consider," notes a weary informant, "is that you can be called upon to go to war." He continues, "you may find yourself in harm's way, or being ordered to harm others in the name of your country. With the state of world affairs right now, be very aware of where you might find yourself." "Duty, honor, country, unit loyalty, and each other" As for culture, says one source, "we are bound by duty, honor, country, unit loyalty and to each other." Reports another insider: "We do not lie, cheat or steal, nor do we let others down. I would more gladly cross the river Styx than let a comrade down." The Army's soldiers describe each other as "the finest people on the planet." One admiring contact remarks that soldiers are "by definition altruistic" since they "place a higher value on their country's goals than on their own." "At the end of the day," says another insider, "our efforts count for something more valuable than personal gain." Respect Insiders say the Army's "highly effective" technical skill development programs are one reason that civilian employers "give instant respect" to applicants with Army experience. While it may not be as well regarded as the U.S. Navy or Air Force, the Army is the first of the armed forces to implement such a wide-ranging policy initiative as Force XXI, which "restructures the military organization altogether rather than tinkering with a problem here and there." The problems that remain The Army, "like the rest of the government," is "way ahead of the corporate world as far as opportunities and policies for women and minorities." Nevertheless, current soldiers say that while it is Army policy to offer "genuine racial equality of opportunity," they "can't deny that discrimination exists." One source notes that the service is plagued by "problems related to sexual inequality." Insiders do stress, however, that the Army is making an "honest" attempt to confront these issues.
Human Resources (800) USA-ARMY More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
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