Recruiter Magazine Navy Recruiting Command

Recruiting Nation,

Happy Fiscal New Year! In looking back at FY23 I am amazed at what we were able to accomplish despite a recruiting environment that remains one of the toughest since the implementation of the all-volunteer force. I appreciate your hard work and commitment to being better. It showed through all of our efforts. Our year ended with the numbers below:

FY23 Accessed/Goal:

30,236/37,700 Active Component – Enlisted 6,342/8,390 Reserve Component – Enlisted 2,080/2,532 Active Component – Officer 1,167/1,940 Reserve Component – Officer

While we did not reach our goals for FY23, we contracted 6,000 more Sailors than we did the year before, which enabled us to reduce the forecasted miss by roughly 50-percent. That is significant, and we should all be proud. It goes without saying, though, that we still have more to do, and are primed for bigger successes in FY24. We will implement new policies, to augment those already in place, and will continuously add more fleet recruiters until we achieve 100% of billets authorized.

The entire Navy is invested in helping us close the gap between what we are producing now and what we need to produce to achieve our mission in FY24. We will continue with our Every Sailor a Recruiter program, and have expanded the program to include the Navy at large so that we can capitalize on Sailor referrals to make our recruiters more efficient and effective.

You remain our subject matter experts, however. Each of you has been specifically trained and are intimately familiar with your areas of operation. As always, I call on each of you to reach out, make new connections, think outside the box, participate in community events, and establish yourselves as trusted members in that community. Now, more than ever, we need to remain committed to achieving our mission, and to project confidence and relatability that will connect with our communities to show them that a career in the Navy is a great opportunity.

As we settle into FY24, it remains ever important that we all continue to look after one another, especially throughout the holidays. While what we do is very important to the Navy, the nation, and me, it is more important that each of you take care of yourselves and each other. The pace in FY24 will be frenetic, but I remain optimistic about the trajectory we’re on and am excited for what we will accomplish in the new year.

Keep charging! Keep finding America’s best, brightest, and toughest, to join our ranks. Never forget that you are walking examples for our Navy 24/7/365, in uniform and out; and that applicants will make their decisions to join based on how you present yourself and on the authentic stories you share.

Continue doing great work! Thank you!

Rear Adm. Alexis “Lex” Walker

Recruiting Nation,

As we move into the new calendar year, we must continue to increase activity by focusing on our high priority zip codes, high school canvassing plans, daily tangible goals, and prospecting for quality to increase the number of applicants and COIs we interact with on a daily basis. Maintaining a quality applicant log and monitoring applicants in the assessing phase are just a few items we are focusing on. The daily DPR process is critical at every level and I expect all recruiters, RinCs, DLCPOs, ACRs, and CRs to DPR daily to ensure we are removing barriers and operating with urgency to increase floor counts and new contracts. Looking back on the first quarter of FY-24, I would like us all to reflect on the challenges we faced, what we control and what can be done to make improvements in the second quarter.

For our TOP PERFORMERS and RinCs: We want you to join the CRF community! If interested, it is paramount you communicate with your Chief Recruiter early and find a solid mentor. It is required to have at least 16-months on recruiting duty and be in your 18-month PRD window with a strong CR and CO endorsement. The upcoming CRF boards are scheduled for February, April, June and August. All packages must be received by the first Wednesday of the board month.

Lastly, we must be constantly looking to sharpen our Valor Sales Skills: Always be closing (ABC), Coffee is for Closers and those catchy sales phrases all come down to one thing… how good are your sales skills? We are all taught VALOR at the beginning of our Navy Recruiting journey but often times, we forget to stop and take time to do refresher training and share ideas and tactics that work in our geographic area. Stopping to train at least monthly is important to be able to identify strengths and areas we can improve with our sales skills. You can find training tools at https://etoolbox.cnrc.navy.mil/valor.html

Don’t forget to ask the most important question, “Are you ready to join the Navy?”

See you at the top!

Master Chief Navy Counselor Gerald Allchin

San Antonio Couple Enlists in the Navy

Story and photo by Allen Cordova, Navy Talent Acquisition Group San Antonio Public Affairs

SAN ANTONIO (Sept. 25, 2023) - Embarking on both a journey of love and service to their country, Tony Botello and Angelique Gomez set sail into the uncharted waters of married life and military duty as they embrace the call of the Navy.

Newlyweds Tony and Angelique, who hail from San Antonio, Texas, will both serve as Personnel Specialists in the Navy’s Administrative Field.

“I joined the Navy to learn discipline, travel, and be able to better myself and my future family,” said Tony, who after high school was working and paying for college. “I was talking with my dad and decided that the military was the obvious way to go.”

According to Angelique, she is a little reserved and is joining the Navy to become more sociable, explore new places, and work on self-improvement.

“When we first met, we were interested in the military, but I was working toward my bachelor’s degree and he [Tony] was working toward his associates,” said Angelique, who was working toward her degree in criminology at the University of Texas San Antonio. “We both decided to join the military and finish our degree’s in the Navy.”

Tony completed his high school education at South San Antonio High School, while Angelique graduated from John Jay High School, both are part of the Class of 2019.

They will commence their basic training on the same day and subsequently attend the same technical school.

“I was thinking about joining the military since high school,” said Angelique who has two brothers serving in the military. “My little brother is in the Navy and serving as a Hospital Corpsman. He is the one who inspired me. When he got home from boot camp and “A” school, he was telling me how he enjoyed it.”

Tony’s grandfather, who also served in the Navy would tell him stories about his time in the service.

After finishing their recruit training, commonly referred to as boot camp, the couple will be relocated to Meridian, Mississippi. There, they will undergo training to become Personnel Specialists. This five-week course will cover various administrative procedures, including managing military pay, maintaining military personnel records, and providing Navy personnel with information about general education and advancement opportunities.

The couple was recruited by Operations Specialist 2nd Class Aaron Castilleja assigned to Navy Recruiting Station Ingram.

“I had a conversation with an Air Force recruiter, while Tony had a discussion with the Navy,” said Angelique. “My husband praised Castilleja for being pleasant and supportive, and that’s when I made up my mind and chose the Navy.”

Navy Talent Acquisition Group San Antonio’s area of responsibility includes more than 30 Navy Recruiting Stations and Navy Officer Recruiting Stations spread throughout 144,000 square miles of Central and South Texas territory.

BRAINERD, Minn. (Oct. 4, 2023) – Families of Americans often look through their family history and can usually point out one or two relatives that served in the U.S. military, passing down stories of their loved one’s service to future generations.

For the Johnson family, naval service is more than the stories that have been passed down through the generations, it has become something of a legacy in their family as Cy Johnson, native of Staples, Minn., becomes the fourth generation in his family to enlist in the U.S. Navy.

“Military, in general, I have always had that calling to it, just growing up around my dad and grandpa and other family members who were, and are still serving in the military,” said Cy.

During a family gathering, Cy’s father and grandfather expressed their full enthusiasm and support about Cy becoming the fourth generation Sailor, and shared their personal Navy journeys.

“I remember when Ben [Cy’s father] was in his early twenties and first had Cy, they were living with me and he wasn’t sure what he was going to do,” said Cy Porwall, Cy’s grandfather. “I remember thinking to myself how the Navy helped me straighten my life out, and that’s when I invited the Navy recruiter over to my house to talk with Ben.”

“I joined when I was 26 and I was still in a 16, 17-year-old mind set,” said Ben Johnson, Cy’s father. “Until Cy was born I didn’t take too much seriously.”

“When it came down to it, I wanted to do something with my life that would make Cy proud,” Ben added as he looks at his son with a noticeable sense of pride and adoration on his face.

Cy and Ben began to talk about how Ben would often take Cy into work with him when he was an active duty as a Fleet Marine Force Hospital Corpsman.

“I always wanted to do what my dad did in the Navy,” Cy added after hearing the stories and recalling the memories about his father when he was young and serving in the Navy.

“A little joke I have with my family is that I’m going to do what my dad did, but do it better,” snickers Cy, currently in his Navy training school to become a Hospital Corpsman following in the footsteps of his father.

“Joining the military has been something that Cy has been talking about since he was 15 years old,” Ben added. “With the pay and benefits better now than when we joined [as Ben motions to Cy’s grandpa] we have always supported his decision.”

As Ben and Cy Porwall discuss their paths that ultimately led them to join the Navy, Kathy Porwall, Cy’s grandmother walked in with fresh brewed, coffee for everyone, with something to add.

“Cy has always been patriotic, even as a little kid,” said Kathy as she passes out fresh, black coffee to everyone. “As a little boy, no matter where we were or what we were doing, when Cy saw a man or woman in uniform he would always walk up to them and thank them and began to try to ask them questions about their job.”

As the conversations continued around the room, it eventually landed on the topic of Cy’s personal reasons for joining the Navy.

“Initially when I started looking into the military, I was leaning towards the Marines,” said Cy. “But the more I thought about my family history, and how I wanted to do what my dad did, I just thought it would be so cool to be the fourth generation to enter the Navy.”

In addition to following in his family’s footsteps, Cy had other reasons for making the decision on a career in the Navy.

“Eventually, I want to work on a golf course, I want to go to college and get my degree in turf management,” said Cy. “Just being super sound on finances and knowing I don’t have to pay for college, and having the option to even earn a degree while I am serving in the Navy, using the tuition assistance program, makes life less stressful.”

Cy also talked about his responses to people when they asked about his career plans, and how he would watch others getting stressed out about college and various career plans while he would simply respond, “I’m going in the Navy where I have at least five years of job security and checks coming in, and it will pay for my college.”

“I would like to make a career out of the Navy, but that’s looking so far ahead,” said Cy. “A career would be a dream right there. Being told that you can retire at 37 years old is like… okay, why not? It’s kind of a no-brainer at that point.”

As Cy continued to talk about his future plans and what he hopes to accomplish in the Navy it naturally developed into where he would like to be stationed and why.

“I would love to be stationed overseas, like in Italy or Greece,” said Cy. “Experiencing new places, people and cultures will be a bit of a shock coming from the small town of Staples, Minn.”

“I saw the same people at school every single day,” Cy added. “It will be nice to go somewhere where I have the chance to meet someone new. It’s something that I wanted and talked about ever since I was in middle school.”

Cy continued to list other reasons he is grateful on his decision to join the Navy, such as: free medical and dental insurance, being able to move around and see the world, and the possibility of retiring at 37 years old.

“It just feels amazing to continue the Navy legacy in my family.’ Cy said. “Seeing how much the Navy has changed the life of my family members that were in, just how successful they are and continue to be… it feels good, there’s a lot to live up too.”

Cy was the only student from his graduating class to enter the military on active duty.

“He was the only one in a class of 83 students to make the commitment to serve active duty in the Navy,” said Cy Porwall.

“It was heart-wrenching during the cords and awards ceremony at his graduation,” said Ben. “When he received his Navy sash there was a standing ovation from everyone in attendance.”

“I jumped right up and started cheering,” said Cy Porwall. “I was so proud of him!”

Cy left for basic training on June 22, 2023, and following his basic training went to Fort Sam Houston, Texas, where he is continuing with his training to become a Hospital Corpsman in the U.S. Navy.

NTAG Northern Plains is responsible for the U.S. Navy’s enlisted and officer recruiting, covering 393,000 square miles in the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, and parts of Illinois, Nebraska and Wisconsin.

For more information on opportunities with the Navy, go to www.navy.com, or visit your local U.S. Navy recruiting office.

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