Strong Hopes for the New U.S. Army Slogan

October 15, 2006 - Shortly after the Air Force switched their slogan last month from “Cross Into the Blue” to “Do Something Amazing,” the U.S. Army is replacing the relatively new slogan “An Army of One.” The Army had to reevaluate the effectiveness of its $200 million per year advertising contract after missing its recruiting goals in 2005. The result is a new slogan with high expectations and deep meaning.

The new slogan "Army Strong" was developed by McCann Worldgroup (www.mccann.com). The five-year contract with McCann Worldgroup is valued at $1 billion with the first two years guaranteed at $200 million annually.

The slogan "Army Strong" expresses physical and emotional strength, the very qualities the Army recruiters have on the long list of benefits for joining the Army. The slogan also has a deeper meaning. Parents, teachers, and other influential people in a young adult’s life will be more likely to view the Army as an outlet to strengthen one’s character. Beyond personal strength the new slogan will exude the strength of the Army, its capabilities, firepower, accomplishments, and fortitude.

Although the Army has been exceeding their recruiting goals for 2006, recruiting during war time is difficult. To meet challenging times, the Army has offered bigger financial incentives, increased the number of recruiters, and used the Internet more to reach their target audience. The Army has also accepted more applicants with lower-tier scores on aptitude tests.

The newly launched slogan has already created a buzz in the blogging world. For the most part, bloggers are glad to see the old motto (An Army of One) leave as fast as it came. Other bloggers want the slogan "Be All You Can Be" to make a comeback.

Only time will tell how the public will react to this slogan, but all initial signs show this to be a strong move forward for the Army.

SGT Michael Volkin is the author of The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook: Tips, Tricks and Tactics for Surviving Boot Camp , available at www. ultimatebasictraining.com.