COVID-19 dampens new military recruits

ATLANTA - The U.S. Army now offers recruitment incentives like shorter periods of service, selecting your first duty station, and even a $50,000 signing bonus. 

Friday, Lt. Col. David Hensel says every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces has experienced a decline in recruitment in the age of COVID-19.

"Recruiting is a challenge. Everything that has affected the economy has affected all the military services in the same way," says the Commander of the Atlanta Recruiting Battalion.

Lt. Col. Hansel says the private sector has also made it tougher to draw high school and college graduates into the military. 

"A lot of companies started offering the type of benefits that only the Army used to offer," he adds.

Since Army recruiters no longer have access to high school career fairs and other options available before the pandemic, recruiters had to shift gears to an online recruitment platform. They hope the new benefits and the increased signing bonus will help beef up the ranks.

"So, depending on the type of assignment you accept and the location, you can get 50,000 right off the bat," he said. "It's critical. We don't use the draft anymore so if we don't recruit, we don't have an army," says Hansel.

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