McHugh Recovery May Make It Harder To Recruit Soldiers

WASHINGTON - Army Secretary John M. McHugh is rooting for an economic recovery. But it just might make his job harder.

Mr. McHugh acknowledged Wednesday that Army recruitment may take a hit when joblessness eases, and that officials are preparing for the day when Army recruiters face more competition from private employers.

At a Senate hearing on the proposed Army budget for next year, Mr. McHugh said the environment will eventually become more difficult for recruiting, possibly turning around the Army's success the past few years in meeting or exceeding recruitment and retention goals. The Army's success follows several years of falling short, when the economy was better and the war in Iraq was at its height.

When he was in Congress representing Northern New York, Mr. McHugh often criticized the military for pouring money into recruitment some years, then scaling back funding when goals were met. In Congress, he pushed for steady and generous funding from year to year, arguing that any letup would take years to turn around.

Mr. McHugh took the same view at Wednesday's hearing of a Senate Appropriations subcommittee. Asked by subcommittee Chairman Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawaii, if the Army would be able to continue its recruiting success, Mr. McHugh said, "I hope so," and suggested that maintaining adequate funding is his top concern going into the next budget year, which begins Oct. 1.

"The money, for the moment, is significant," Mr. McHugh said.

Mr. McHugh also gave a nod to a former Fort Drum commander, Lt. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley, commander of the Army's Accessions Command, saying Gen. Freakley has done "an amazing job" at building the force. The Army has met recruitment goals even as it expanded by tens of thousands of soldiers since 9-11.

The Army has met its goals despite cutting the signing bonuses that grew during the Iraq war. New enlistees made thousands of dollars in bonuses. But the bonuses came under criticism from congressional reviewers, who argued that the Army had met its goals and that high unemployment was driving many people to the military anyway.

As chairman and then ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, Mr. McHugh helped lead the push for salary increases and signing bonuses.

Cutting those bonuses is appropriate now, given the jobs environment, Mr. McHugh said Wednesday.

Mr. McHugh also reflected on another about-face by the Defense Department and Congress, on contracting out various services. After turning over many jobs to contractors, including in deployment zones, the Army and the rest of the military are "insourcing," Mr. McHugh told the committee. Those moves have already saved about $41 million, and more moves are forthcoming, he said.

Mr. McHugh faced questions from Sen. Byron L. Dorgan, D-N.D., who cited shoddy electrical work and, separately, water contractors who supplied contaminated, non-potable water - an allegation the Army initially denied but which Mr. Dorgan said was substantiated to him by an Army doctor who treated sick soldiers.

Mr. Dorgan called contracting the source of the "greatest waste, fraud and abuse" in the military. He pledged to require a study of military contracting through legislation.

Mr. McHugh acknowledged that he was among House Armed Services Committee leaders who approved the move toward more contracting, but added, "We went far too far, in my humble opinion."