Agenda - Council - 05/19/1980 - Special

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This letter is being addressed %o you as a result of a unanir.]ous resolution of the Board of Directors of Branch 136, Fleet Reserve Association. in recent meetings, the Directors and general membership have been dismayed at the state of our recruiting effort and asked that I write to you. it is no secret that recruiting young men and women for our Armed Forces is tough in the Midwest. That has been the case for many years, but is partially offset by the high quality of.the people that we do enlist. The tide is changing, however, in some measure due no doubt to recessionary pressures in our econom33. Other more positive steps are bringing about a change. You may be aware tha~ last year the Minnesota Legislature passed and the Governor signed a bill that "guarantees" the services co- equal basis with other representative of education and industry. The "bill" is a good one and in fact was the first such iegisia~ion in %he Nation. Other states are following suit. The "bill" is'not enough, however, we also need a receptive attitude on the part of school-officials to make the la~ have meaning. Restricting everyone to a single visit each year may meet the let%er of the law but. certainly not the spirit of the law. Your Navy needs your help to get the message out loud and clear to educators in your coca, unity. i) The Navy is an honorable option for all students to consider. 2) We are committed to helping students continue-their education, not to encouraging them to drop out. 3) Our training programs produce responsible~ productive citizens. Many of you know our recruiters, indeed, many of our recruiters are members of Branch 136. Please take a few minutes to review the enclose~ list of schools that we know we are having difficulties with I am sure that the ~' ~ · ~su is not'complete.