(PresidentialWire.com)- On Wednesday, the Marine Corps released a new plan that reveals massive changes to how they recruit and retain service members. The plan outlines how they intend to reach out to talented individuals rather than targeting large numbers of personnel.
Quality over quantity, in other words.
According to a press release issued by General David H. Berger, the commandant of the Marine Corps, the most important element of the new plan is “the individual Marine.”
“Transitioning to a talent management system will enable us to better harness and develop the unique skills and strengths of our Marines, improve the performance of our units in competition and combat, and ensure that we remain ‘most ready when the Nation is least ready,’ today and into the future,” he said.
Under the “Talent Management 2030” plan, the fundamental ways that the Marines recruit people are changed. From now, people with special skills will be recruited to the Marines, allowing those people to start off at higher ranks and include those experts into a “talent marketplace” within the Marines.
It would mean that more people with specific knowledge and talents will be fast-tracked, rather than recruiting large numbers of untrained people and waiting for several years to find people who shine.
For the last 25 years, the Marine Corps has discharged three-quarters of its first-term service members every year and then recruited an equal number of replacements. The new plan would stop this process from happening and hopefully save both time and money.
Berger described the old system as “recruit and replace” and suggested they are now working towards an “invest and retain” plan.
With China ramping up its nuclear arsenal and military prowess, now sounds like a good time for reform.
