How can I best prepare for the Army 79R Recruiter Course, and what are typical days like?

SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 10:04:33 -0500

I am leaving within the next couple of months to attend, and would like to know as much as possible. What is an average day like, what should I study, etc. I am transitioning from an Army TPU position to an AGR position.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 10 at 2016 10:07 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 10:07:20 -0500

SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member do yoirself a favor.... Learn how to start a conversation about something you hate... I personally am not a sports fan at all... But i watch the news and follow the local high school sports teams.
What do you mean average day, school or recruiting. Welcome to USAREC!

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 10 at 2016 10:17 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 10:17:48 -0500

I would start reviewing AR601-210, USAREC REG 601-94, USAREC REG 601-210, PRT. If you send me your email I'll send you some materials to review for testing.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 10 at 2016 10:46 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 10:46:23 -0500

Can't agree more with SFC Private RallyPoint Member about the review, but getting in will just make it more confusing. Honestly i would start with your own interpersonal skills. Work on your "Army Story" how you got where you are now, make it intriguing.

Avrage day ARC now has changes since i went throu at ft jackson but the ciriculum is the same. Day one, be prepaired for a weigh in... As with any army school.

Each day you will PRT student lead, instructor supervised. 0900-1130 classwork, 1300-1700 classwork. 1700 COB and personal/class makeup/study group.

The entire class is broke down into 3 parts, in the normal "Craw, Walk, Run" stages.
-Phase 1:Learn regs (602-210) and talk about resilience, get a psychological eval.
-2nd stage: is learning how to process applicants within "IKROME" and other recruiting functions. The -3rd phase: you will be intergrated to the center leaders course where aspiring 79R (seasond recruiters) are training to become center leaders. This is the FTX so to speak.

Normal day as a recruiter will vary, but mostlikey will be like this:
0845-0900 work day prep
0900-0930 center leader IPR (in process review)
0930-1200 school visit
1200-1400 face to face prospecting (if avilable)
1400-1600 phone calls to grads last year (50+ attempts 30/ hour)
1600-1800 phone calls to this years seniors
1800-1830 followups with prospects, applicants or future soldiers. 1830-1845 daily AAR.
1845-1900 CEnter leader Back brief mini IPR.
1900- personal time / indirect prospecting.

Pending your center, and your role, your day may vary. If you are a natural extrovert, your primary role may to be make and conduct appointments. if you cant talk a mime into being quiet, you will do something else.

Centers can be ran in any of the followi g formats:
-Legacy - Everyone is out for thier own.
-SUR - small unit recruiting ( engagment team, processor, and future soldier leader)
Or what we now call recruiting operations, this is just a way to change direction of a work effort.

Questions feel free to call me on my gov USAREC phone [login to see] . Or [login to see]

Response by SFC Jeffrey Thivierge, MA, BSN, RN made Feb 10 at 2016 1:09 PM

SFC Jeffrey Thivierge, MA, BSN, RN — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 13:09:28 -0500

First, if you're a human being that is of reasonable intelligence, you'll do fine at the ARC. There really isn't a huge need to study, per se, as the test is open book. In a total class of around 200 people, only one person failed and she was the definition of a horrible Soldier. The instructors there will give you the basics of the job, but as with any MOS, the real training begins when you sign into your station and start working. I was fortunate that my time as a medic gave me a lot of insight as to disqualifying conditions within AR 40-501.

If you've been deployed, be prepared to deal with enlisted leadership that has never deployed or hasn't deployed since Desert Storm. They may not be able to relate to you in that respect, which can be frustrating at times. In my station, there were 5 recruiters and 1 station commander. All 5 recruiters went to therapy for one reason or another and the station commander and 1SG never seemed to understand why everyone had these appointments on a weekly/biweekly basis. That station commander and 1SG were two people that had never deployed. I'm not saying that your experience will mirror mine, but it seemed to be widespread throughout our company and battalion.

USAREC can be a fickle beast. Some of the leadership is awful and will make you question your very will to live. There are others that remember what it's like to be in your shoes. You are given a tremendous amount of time to complete your mission. The problem, however, is that your mission is dependent on the free will of other humans. Remember what it's like to be a prospect and how your recruiter treated you? Well, now is your opportunity to be a decent human being towards another human being. Be prepared to roll a nut (not have any enlistments for the month) for a while. Today's Army is all about quality enlistments... high school seniors/graduates with an AFQT higher than 50. The size of the force is shrinking, so they want the best; no serious law convictions, no medical issues (especially psychiatric), and be drug free.

You mention that you're going from TPU reservist to an AGR slot... good for you. If you've never been active duty (not counting deployments), be prepared for some trash-talking from the active duty guys in your station. They love to bag on the reserves, regardless of how competent you may be in your MOS. Personally, I let that stuff go for a month or two before I let the guys know that I was previously active duty before entering the reserves. If your battalion is lucky, you'll have an AGR operations NCO (E-7 or E-8) that may be able to give you some career guidance. Your 1SG will likely not know a damn thing about how to manage an AGR Soldier's career, so that ops guy is going to be your lifeline. Be prepared to manage your own career. Advocate for yourself to get to the schools that you need and use your knowledge of the regulations to your advantage.

The best thing about being an AGR 79R is you are damn near automatically promoted to SFC. With that said, make sure you stay on top of your OMPF and ERB. My TPU unit was absolutely terrible at uploading documents to my OMPF and I found that the folks at my battalion weren't a whole lot better. I entered AGR duty on January 20, 2009 as a SSG, knowing that the SFC board was days away from convening. I managed to find a decent human being at HRC that uploaded 90% of my missing documents and we ensured that I had a board file that would be reviewed. My ERB was nearly blank, so I wrote a letter to the board explaining why my OMPF and ERB were semi-jacked. I was selected for SFC only 2 months into my AGR tour. As stated earlier... be prepared to manage your own career.

Good luck and may the force be with you.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 5 at 2020 10:12 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 05 Aug 2020 22:12:34 -0400

The best thing to do is read and review AR 601-210 chapters 2 and 4. And take a peek at the UR 601-210 as well. UTC 5-03.1 and 5-03.2 are also good reads.