Abstract:
This case offers a (fictionalized) look at the responsibilities of a staff officer in the office of the Army deputy chief of staff for personnel as that office prepares for the advent of the all-volunteer Army. The all-volunteer Army raised questions that sharpened long--standing issues within the Army's recruiting bureaucracy. Decisions on how to evaluate recruiting officers' performance, how to allocate recruiting staff across the country, and what kind of recruits to pursue (high school graduates or non-graduates) were like to have a variety of implications for the morale of recruiters, the cost and effectiveness of maintaining the standing Army, the Army's relationship with Congress, and the reputation and career of the deputy. The case sketches these issues, outlining the data and data-gathering facilities available to the staff officer, and puts the staff officer (and student) in the position of preparing a comprehensive briefing, with recommendations, for the deputy.
