Army’s PaYS program takes long view in effort to improve recruit pool

Since the end of the draft and the onset of the all-volunteer military in the mid-1970s, the Army has raised the bar so high that only three out of 10 potential recruits now qualify to enlist in the service.

“That’s really kind of a scary fact but that’s the truth,” Lt. Col. Matthew Harmon, commander of the Army’s Salt Lake City Recruiting Battalion, which includes Nevada, said Thursday.

Harmon’s comments came at a ceremony highlighting the Army’s Partnership for Youth Success (PaYS) program, a recruiting and job placement initiative that aims do something about the problem by helping veterans transition to the civilian workforce. The thinking is that by providing veterans with opportunities at the end of their service, the Army can attract more-qualified recruits looking to simultaneously serve the nation and prepare for their future.

Thursday’s event was held to welcome a new local partner — the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas — into the program,

Daniel Espino, the company’s senior vice president of people, said the initiative is “about a genuine interest to enrich the lives of our veterans, because we believe that those who serve and defend us should be given the knowledge, the tools and expertise and confidence to enter the workforce.”

As part of the program, the Cosmopolitan will post open positions on the PaYS job board and guarantee interviews for qualified applicants. The resort also has held seminars for veterans on how to apply for jobs.

Harmon said it’s unclear why most young applicants can’t pass muster for Army enlistment, but said he doesn’t believe that the heavy reliance on a leaner Army to fight the global war on terrorism — including repeat deployments to hot spots like Afghanistan and Iraq — limits the number of qualified recruits.

“It’s still just finding the proper applicant for the job,” he said.

A key focus of the PaYS program is highlighting the qualities that military veterans bring with them when they enter the civilian workforce.

Harmon said the Army’s enlistment standards are the highest ever in U.S. history, which means the three out of 10 who do serve possess qualities attractive to civilian employers, attributes that include leadership, respect, integrity and responsibility, Harmon said.

“These soldiers know what to do when that plan begins to veer off track or something is just not working,” he said. “These are soldiers that get the job done … who can handle crisis situations, who are critical thinkers, who don’t flinch when an unexpected bump in the road happens.”

Contact Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308. Follow @KeithRogers2 on Twitter.