79T Tune-Up 

NGPAM 601-1

Chapter 2 Recruiting Activities

Section I Product Knowledge

Section II Time Management

Section III Public Speaking

Section IV Market Analysis

Section V Pre-Qualification

2-30. General

The prequalification process is a means of quickly finding out if the applicant meets certain standards established for enlistment. In practice, you do not go into each criterion to great depth; however, it is extremely important that you determine if spending time with the applicant is going to pay dividends. The exact criteria for enlistment are found in NGR 600-200 and Fiscal Year Enlistment Criteria, but this section is concerned more with how the information is obtained than with the information itself. This is an ongoing process that begins when you first meet a prospect and doesn’t end until the individual is enlisted. Use every opportunity to obtain relevant information.

2-31. Purpose

To verify that the applicant does not have any disqualifying conditions that will preclude his/her enlistment. It saves the RRNCO valuable time by preventing wasted effort on interviews and paperwork that will not be used.

2-32. Obtaining Information

The acronym APPLE MD is designed to record prospect information. Each letter in this acronym stands for one of the subjects you will cover each time you pre-qualify an applicant, and are listed below.

APPLEMD:

a. a – Age/citizenship

b. p – Prior service

c. p – Physical/mental processing and data

d. l – Law violations

e. e – Education

f. m – Marital status

g. d – Dependency status/number of dependents

2-33. Ask Questions

Make sure the applicant understands that it is very important that you receive all the pertinent information regarding his/her enlistment. One way to ensure that he/she understands what information you, the RRNCO require, is to ask the proper questions. If the questions are vague, the answers will also be vague. Be sure to be precise in your questioning. Some examples:

a. Have you ever been sick or had any condition in which you sought help from any type of medical professional? –vs.– Have you ever had any medical problems? The first question is asking for facts, while the second is asking for an opinion. Do not leave the question open for interpretation.

b. Have you ever been in any major trouble with the police? –vs.– Have you ever been stopped, detained, cited, charged and arrested (even if the charges were dropped), convicted of a crime, spent time in jail or time on any type of probation, or had any other kind of encounter with any law enforcement agency, regardless of the seriousness?  Do not let the applicant decide which law violations you need to know about. If he/she has an offense that will disqualify him/her or will require a waiver, you as the RRNCO need to know now. Finding out in the middle of filling out an enlistment packet or while the applicant is processing at MEPS, will only result in loss of productive time, money, effort, and even the enlistment (if the disqualifying factor is not available).

2-34. Observations

When meeting with a prospect for the first time, be focused on the individual completely. Part of your prequalification can be aided by what you see. Does the prospect wear glasses (possible) have braces on his/her teeth (must be off before shipping to basic), walk with a slight limp, have any noticeable deformities, etc.? Be efficient in your program. If the individual appears qualified, drive on. If you determine that the prospect is disqualified, thank them for their interest, ask for a referral and end the interview as soon as possible so you can move on with other prospects

2-35. Documentation

It is essential that you obtain all necessary documentation required for enlistment as early in the process as possible.  During the prequalification process, do not assume that the applicant has the documents you require, even if he/she says that they do. Early procurement of items such as birth certificates, social security cards, INS documentation, school diplomas or education verifications, marriage certificates, and division of motor vehicle driving reports are critical to timely enlistment. Be sure to consult most current enlistment criteria for all the proper documentation.  Another note to remember is that if you have to wait on a particular document for an applicant, do not sit idle during that time frame. While the applicant is trying to get what is needed, be working on another enlistment that can be accomplished now. Contact-to-contract time is prolonged by long document trails and during the time period you are awaiting paperwork, be sure to stay in contact with the prospect regularly. Do not let him/her become cold or develop other needs that they try to satisfy elsewhere. If you do, you lose and the ARNG loses. Remember however, the most important enlistment is the one that can be finalized first.

2-36. Prior Service Records

In dealing with PS personnel who do not have their complete service record, obtaining those records needed for enlistment can be a difficult task if the RRNCO does not know the proper channels and procedures to go through.  Adhering to proper NGB and State policies can make such searches easier and faster. The RRNCO or appointed organization can request records through ARPERCEN, the Naval Reserve Personnel Center, other State ARNG units, and many other agencies. ARPERCEN holds records of Soldiers who currently have a military status.

Whether Army, USAR or ARNG, if the Soldier is in the IRR, his/her records should be there. They should be requested through whatever means your State uses to obtain them. Some States have taken advantage of the computerized system that allows a representative of the State to locate records via modem and print them at their

location. This system also allows the representative to look into the national archives, which contains records of all services. If the individual is completely separated from the military, their records can be found in the national archives, located at ARPERCEN. Many states still have to request records through faxed requests that take considerably longer. Once again, remember to move on to applicants who can process immediately while waiting for those PS records to show up.

2-37. Summary

The most important idea from this section to remember is that too much time spent on an applicant that cannot enlist because of a disqualification, or cannot enlist for a few weeks because of misplaced or lost personal documents, is wasted time that cannot be recovered. If proper prequalification techniques are being used, the RRNCO can be working on an enlistment for the current week. Too much time between the initial interview and actual enlistment can also result in a young man/woman deciding not to join the ARNG. Many times when people, especially young men and women, have too much time to think about something, their response is the same as when they don’t have enough time to think about it. They back away completely or respond with a quick “no.” If you don’t waste time, ask the proper questions and close the interview with a definite course of action, the results will be favorable. Your prospect won’t end up choosing another branch, getting injured, getting arrested or change their mind.