FORT KNOX, Ky. –
When Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Rosado heard the Army’s two accessions commands were teaming up to make recruiting for both enlisted Soldiers and officers more effective, he immediately went to work.
He generated 38 contracts in three years after taking full advantage of the 2018 memorandum of understanding between U.S. Army Recruiting Command and U.S. Army Cadet Command. He also earned a Meritorious Service Medal for his efforts with the Southern California Recruiting Battalion.
Now serving at USAREC headquarters in the G7 Marketing Division, Rosado was very excited to hear last month that the MOU between the two organizations was being renewed. He immediately asked how he could help provide training for other recruiting NCOs, so they, too, could use this opportunity to help achieve their recruiting mission.
“The MOU is something that is bringing everyone to the table,” Rosado said. “And we need to find a way to maximize the community of partnerships.”
The MOU, signed Oct. 7, 2021, by USAREC’s Maj. Gen. Kevin Vereen and USACC’s Maj. Gen. Johnny Davis, unites the two commands in a joint effort to maximize recruiting potential on college campuses.
The agreement benefits both organizations by encouraging USAREC’s recruiting NCOs and USACC’s recruiting operations officers to work together on college campuses.
The teamwork between the two organizations allows for sharing of office space and contact lists and referring of candidates to the organization that would provide the best fit for the individual’s future career plan. For instance, if a Reserve Officer Training Corps cadet decides to drop out of college, USACC would provide the individual’s information to USAREC to see if an enlisted career may be a better fit.
This was exactly the partnership Rosado said he needed to find success as a recruiting NCO in California. He forged relationships with the ROTC and Army National Guard recruiters on campus at California State University, Fullerton. He worked to establish a mutually beneficial relationship that allowed him to have an office co-located with the ROTC on campus.
While at Cal State Fullerton, Rosado was not only embedded within the ROTC program, he was also the assistant recruiting operations officer as well as an instructor at the university, teaching classes in military science. From this experience, the mission-driven and committed Rosado was able to go to the Recruiting and Retention College and earn his basic instructor badge.
"I became a better recruiter and obtained the instructor badge because of the MOU," Rosado said.
He also wanted to earn the badge as a way to help others implement and understand how valuable the MOU can be when used correctly.
"We need everyone to be aligned with this partnership and be able to track on the short-term and long-term levels to track and see how this partnership within the MOU actually works," he said.
Rosado, originally from Puerto Rico, joined the U.S. Army Reserve in 2007 as a transportation manager coordinator, but quickly realized recruiting was the path he wanted to take. He joined what would be the final class of the corporal recruiter program, which was a unique Army initiative that allowed specialists or corporals to become recruiters.
Rosado learned the basics of recruiting while working at the University of North Florida and then refined his knowledge about the Simultaneous Membership Program at Georgia State University. SMP allows enlisted Army Reserve or Army National Guard Soldiers to serve while simultaneously attending college and being involved in ROTC to become an officer.
Rosado continued to hone his skills and set new standards in recruiting while at the University of Puerto Rico, University of Massachusetts and California State University, Fullerton.
Rosado said he believes this partnership could have a significant impact on USAREC’s mission if recruiting NCOs across the country work to establish solid relationships with their local ROTC programs.
"Embrace this new chapter of USAREC,” he said. “Learn it, try to apply it to the best of your ability. Every command can provide something to the other command and create synergy. Even though each command has its own responsibility, this MOU creates that fusion between each of the commands."