Considering a Cadre Augmented Army - RAND Corporation

-208- An Operational Analysis of Cadre
expansion rate we assumed in Paper I of three BCTs per year would require an expansion
rate nearly twice this rate. Additionally, higher recruiting goals would need to be permanent
for the duration of a war, as personnel will leave the force and need to be replaced. As of
early 2008, the Army has been successful in achieving its higher recruiting targets. 116
However, the Army has had to reduce its quality standards and significantly increase
recruiting expenditures to achieve these targets. 117
Quality and cost will also be recruiting issues facing a cadre augmented force. Quality
will be a concern because research shows that a reduction in quality of personnel is
associated with a decrease in combat skills. 118 If cadre units are not as effective in wartime as
AC or RC units, they may not be able to replace them at the same tradeoff ratios assumed in
the first paper of this dissertation. This would reduce the cost savings from a cadre
augmented force. Cost will be a concern because increasing the number of recruits requires
increasing the size of recruiting bonuses, the number of recruiters, and advertising
expenditures. 119 If we assume that the supply curve for military personnel is linear then the
cost of a cadre augmented force would be the same as that of the equivalent non-cadre force
always maintained at wartime size. This would not be true if the supply curve is concave, in
which case the cost of increasing and decreasing the size of the force would be larger than
that of permanently maintaining the force at the higher wartime level. One last recruiting
____________
116 DoD (2007d)
117 CBO (2006), p. 6. Spending on enlistment bonuses increased 75 percent from 2000-2005 while spending on
recruiters and advertising increased 38 percent and 73 percent over the same time period. [CBO (2006), p. 8-9].
Not all of these increases can be attributed directly to increasing end-strength. Fighting an unpopular war,
together with a healthy economy and a declining percentage of the population qualifying for military service,
has also spurred the Army to spend more on recruiting.
118 Studies show that recruits who are better educated and have higher scores on aptitude tests are more likely
to complete initial training, more likely to stay in the Army, and perform better in the military. [CBO (2006), p.
6]
119 These are listed as the three “most important resources available to the army to influence accession levels”
in CBO (2006). [CBO (2006), p. 7]