Did School Closures Matter for the Army's Recruiting Crisis?

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Did School Closures Matter for the Army's Recruiting Crisis?
Authors: Colas, Brandon
Source: Military Review. Jul/Aug2025, Vol. 105 Issue 4, p148-159. 12p.
Subjects: School districts, College admission officers, COVID-19 pandemic, Recruiting & enlistment (Armed Forces), Organizational behavior, Monetary incentives
Abstract: The article examines the impact of school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic on U.S. Army recruitment, particularly in 2022 and 2023, which were marked by significant shortfalls in enlistment. It highlights that while many officials attributed recruitment challenges to limited access to high school students due to these closures, the author argues that this perspective may overlook the variability in school operations across different districts and the alternative methods recruiters had to reach potential recruits. The analysis suggests that the actual effect of school closures on recruitment outcomes may have been marginal, as recruitment trends were already declining prior to the pandemic, and that the Army's recruitment crisis is influenced by a broader set of factors beyond just school access. [Extracted from the article]
Copyright of Military Review is the property of US Army, Combined Arms Center and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Did School Closures Matter for the Army's Recruiting Crisis?
– Name: Author
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Colas%2C+Brandon%22">Colas, Brandon</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Military+Review%22">Military Review</searchLink>. Jul/Aug2025, Vol. 105 Issue 4, p148-159. 12p.
– Name: Subject
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+districts%22">School districts</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+admission+officers%22">College admission officers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22COVID-19+pandemic%22">COVID-19 pandemic</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Recruiting+%26+enlistment+%28Armed+Forces%29%22">Recruiting & enlistment (Armed Forces)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Organizational+behavior%22">Organizational behavior</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Monetary+incentives%22">Monetary incentives</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: The article examines the impact of school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic on U.S. Army recruitment, particularly in 2022 and 2023, which were marked by significant shortfalls in enlistment. It highlights that while many officials attributed recruitment challenges to limited access to high school students due to these closures, the author argues that this perspective may overlook the variability in school operations across different districts and the alternative methods recruiters had to reach potential recruits. The analysis suggests that the actual effect of school closures on recruitment outcomes may have been marginal, as recruitment trends were already declining prior to the pandemic, and that the Army's recruitment crisis is influenced by a broader set of factors beyond just school access. [Extracted from the article]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Military Review is the property of US Army, Combined Arms Center and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 12
        StartPage: 148
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      – SubjectFull: School districts
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: College admission officers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: COVID-19 pandemic
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Recruiting & enlistment (Armed Forces)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Organizational behavior
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Monetary incentives
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      – TitleFull: Did School Closures Matter for the Army's Recruiting Crisis?
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            – D: 01
              M: 07
              Text: Jul/Aug2025
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              Y: 2025
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