rj | pro-talk
FSTP... What’s in
?
your Program
By Victoria Sorensen, G-3 Plans and Programs Division
E
ach year we recruit thousands of the best qualified men and women to join our profession. We spend hours informing them of Army and Army Reserve opportunities. We ensure they are mentally, morally and physically qualified, and then guide them to an Army decision. If we spend all that time learning about the individual, guiding them through the process and convincing them to join our Army, then how come we don’t continue that professional relationship while they’re in the Future Soldier Training Program? It is still our job to follow up with these Soldiers, especially while they’re in the FSTP. If we work so hard to get them in, shouldn’t we work just as hard to keep them? Things do happen to prevent Future Soldiers from shipping to basic combat training, but it should not be a last-minute surprise. We all know that a change in a Future Soldier’s status can occur for various reasons. Some fail to graduate high school, earn a college scholarship or change their short- or long-term goals. Others simply fail to report, decide to enlist into another branch of service or encounter physical problems that can disqualify them — temporarily or permanently. Recruiters are not directly responsible for a Future Soldier’s conduct or choices, but they are responsible to treat them as Soldiers and ensure they remain fully qualified for service. This leader-Soldier relationship should be ongoing throughout the recruiting process and during their time in the FSTP. Developmental counseling helps a prospect become an applicant and can be used to reinforce a wavering commitment. Each situation is different and demands a thoughtful, professional approach. Recruiting personnel — Soldiers or civilians — may not threaten Future Soldiers with arrest, a poor credit rating or other adverse action for failing to ship to training. As you follow up with your Future Soldiers, don’t be afraid to ask the hard questions to ensure they are still qualified. Using the FSTP decision matrix, Future Soldier Asset Inventory (FSAI) checklist, and the Future Soldier pre-execution checklist can help identify potential issues. How your Future Soldiers answers the questions you ask will help determine what actions need to be taken. Mitigation of issues as they arise ensures your Future Soldier remains qualified and ships to initial military training (IMT) on time. While the inclination might be to keep Future Soldiers until the last possible moment so issues can be resolved, there are risks with this approach. Each year thousands of training seats — and all associated funding — are lost due to last-minute losses. Most of these occur within 30 days before a Future Soldier is scheduled to ship to IMT. Actions or issues that cannot be resolved should be addressed immediately and a review conducted to identify if the Future Soldier is still qualified to ship to IMT. Once the review is complete and a determination is made on the Future Soldier’s qualifications, leaders must take action. All potential losses must be reported immediately if the Future Soldier is found to be disqualified for enlistment and no waiver can be submitted. Identifying losses immediately — and at the minimum of 45 days prior to the ship date — allows training seats and funding to be reclaimed and used for other individuals processing for enlistment. The Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 average investment per enlisted
12 | recruiter journal | may-june 2013