Page 7 - Ft. Irwin High Desert Warrior August 2016

www.aerotechnews.com/ntcfortirwin High Desert Warrior 7
August 5, 2016

From MYTHS, page 1

ON-TARGET RECRUITING new people at the bottom each and every day,” he said. “So into combat arms roles -- through the use of a “leader rst”
For the rst time in half a decade, Army Recruiting Com- yes, we are downsizing, but also yes, we are open for business.” approach, “is the right approach.” at involves putting fe-
mand will meet its recruiting goals for both the Regular Army male o cers rst into traditionally closed specialties, and then
and the Army Reserve. A new twist on recruiting now, Snow said, is the pursuit following that with training for NCOs who have reclassi ed.
of female recruits for combat duty. In years past, women were
is year, for the regular Army, that goal is 62,500 people. denied the opportunity to select combat arms jobs like their Women make up about 51 percent of the general popu-
For the Army Reserve, the goal is 15,400. e Army National male counterparts. at’s no longer the case. lation of the U.S., but within the Army, women represent
Guard conducts its own separate recruiting, but if their num- about 14 to 15 percent of Soldiers. And within the recruit-
bers were included, the total Army recruiting goal for 2016 So far, he said, just over 100 women have enlisted into ing community, women make up only about 8 to 9 percent,
would be nearly 120,000 Soldiers, by Snow’s estimate. combat Military Occupational Specialties that were formerly according to Snow.
designated only for men. at might not seem like much, he
“ at’s certainly a credit to the hard work of our 12,500 said, but it’s just the beginning. It remains to be seen how the at’s a problem for the Army, he said. It should be easier
recruiters and sta stationed around the world,” he said. combat roles of women will evolve in the future. to bring women into the Army with a cadre of recruiters who
better represent women in service. It’s one of the things Snow is
Some may wonder why it is that, with the con icts in “We expect this to be gradual over time,” he said. “But focused on now, he said, but it’ll be a multi-year e ort to make
Afghanistan and Iraq drawn down and the Army downsiz- the fact that these remaining MOSs are open now -- essen- improvements in female representation among recruiters.
ing, the Army should continue its recruiting e orts. It’s just tially, the sky is the limit for them. We expect that…there
another myth, Snow said, that the Army needs to recruit only will be a gradual increase in desire to pursue some of these In the meantime, the Army will begin training new women
during wartime. other specialties.” recruits next spring, between January and March 2017, for
those combat arms roles.
“ e Army is a pyramid, and we continue to bring in the Snow said the Army’s initial approach to integrating women

Veteran homelessness drops nearly 50 percent since 2010

WASHINGTON -- e Housing and Urban Development Photo Credit: U.S. Army
and Veterans A airs departments and the U.S. Interagency
Council on Homelessness today announced that the number of Army Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Howell, 8th Theater Sustainment Command public a airs operations noncommissioned o cer,
veterans experiencing homelessness in the United States has been talks with a homeless veteran ahead of the annual Veterans Stand-Down in Honolulu, Aug. 5, 2015. The stand-down
cut nearly in half since 2010. was part of the Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness initiative announced by First Lady Michelle Obama as a
way to challenge the mayors in major cities to provide services and supplies to homeless veterans such as food, shelter,
White House o cials said data shows a 17 percent decrease clothing, medical, dental and bene ts counseling with the hope of getting them o the streets.
in veteran homelessness between January 2015 and January 2016
-- quadruple the previous year’s annual decline -- and a 47 percent when we nd new ways to work together and when we set bold across the nation.
decrease since 2010. goals and hold ourselves accountable, nothing is unsolvable.” HUD and VA administer a wide range of programs that

rough HUD’s annual Point-in-Time estimate of America’s ACCELLERATING PROGRESS prevent and end homelessness among veterans, including
homeless population, communities across the country reported programs that provide health care, housing solutions, job
that fewer than 40,000 veterans were experiencing homelessness In 2014, First Lady Michelle Obama launched the Mayors training and education.
on a given night in January 2016, o cials said. e January 2016 Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness with the goal of accelerat-
estimate found slightly more than 13,000 unsheltered homeless ing progress toward the national goal of ending veteran homeless- In scal year 2015, these programs helped more than 157,000
veterans living on their streets, a 56 percent decrease since 2010. ness. More than 880 mayors, governors, and other local o cials people -- including 99,000 veterans and 34,000 children -- secure
have joined the challenge and committed to ending veteran or remain in permanent housing, o cials said. Since 2010, more
PARTNERSHIPS PRODUCED RESULTS homelessness in their communities, White House o cials said. than 360,000 veterans and their families have been permanently
is progress is a result of partnerships among HUD, VA, housed, rapidly rehoused or prevented from becoming homeless
To date, 27 communities and two states have e ectively through programs administered by HUD and VA.
USICH, and other federal, state and local partners. ese partner- ended veteran homelessness, serving as models for others
ships were sparked by the 2010 launch of Opening Doors, the

rst strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness, o cials said.
e initiative’s success among veterans can also be attributed to

the e ectiveness of the HUD-VA Supportive Housing program,
which combines HUD rental assistance with case management
and clinical services provided by the VA, o cials added. Since
2008, more than 85,000 vouchers have been awarded and more
than 114,000 homeless veterans have been served through the
HUD-VASH program.

“We have an absolute duty to ensure those who’ve worn our
nation’s uniform have a place to call home,” HUD Secretary Ju-
lian Castro said. “While we’ve made remarkable progress toward
ending veteran homelessness, we still have work to do to make
certain we answer the call of our veterans, just as they answered
the call of our nation.”

“ e dramatic decline in veteran homelessness re ects the
power of partnerships in solving complex national problems on
behalf of those who have served our nation,” VA Secretary Robert
A. McDonald said.

“ e men and women who have fought for this nation should
not have to ght to keep a roof over their head, and I’m pleased
that VA is serving more veterans than ever before with heath
care, education, job training and wraparound supportive services.
While this is very real progress that means tens of thousands more
veterans have a place to call home, we will not rest until every
veteran in need is permanently housed.”

“Together, we are proving that it is possible to solve one of
the most complex challenges our country faces,” said Matthew
Doherty, the executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council
on Homelessness. “ is progress should give us con dence that

For more information go to www.irwin.army.mil