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CNN Sunday Morning

Interview With Dennis Cavin

Aired January 05, 2003 - 08:39   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: It is a different kind of ground attack for the U.S. Army. Today the top 78 high school football players in the nation hit the field in the U.S. Army's All-American Bowl. Best in the east meets the best of the west. Joining us with more on this and on Army recruiting is Lieutenant General Dennis Cavin. He joins us from San Antonio, one of my favorite cities in my home state of Texas. And General, are you based there at Fort Sam Houston, is that still a going concern, or are just there for the game?
LT. GEN. DENNIS CAVIN, U.S. ARMY: No, we're just here for the game, Renay. My actual headquarters is in Port Moro (ph), Virginia.

SAN MIGUEL: OK. Well, you are in charge of the Army's Accessions Command, as I understand it.

CAVIN: That's correct.

SAN MIGUEL: This is the third year for the Army's All-American Bowl. What kind of activities are we talking about here, besides just a football game, a chance to really meet with some Army folks and talk recruiting?

CAVIN: Well, actually, Renay, this is the second year the Army has sponsored the All-American Bowl, it's the third year for the bowl but it's the second year for the Army to support it. Last year was our first year here in San Antonio.

It's been an exciting week. We've had a tremendous number of activities going on. We've got about 500 high school cheerleaders in here, 20 bands participated in the events, and of course yesterday and today we're running a sophomore and junior combine to look at what might be possible for players for next year. It's a great experience so far for them.

SAN MIGUEL: You know, last year was your first year, as you said. Is there any way to gauge, you know, if you were able to see new recruits coming just because of the All-American Bowl?

CAVIN: Absolutely. We're very sophisticated in our research mechanism, and so when we spend the taxpayers' dollar, we want to be very cognizant of our return on investment. So last year we got a little over 1,300 leads, that's individuals who came to us and said I'd like to know some more information about the Army, and from those 1,300, 48 people actually enlisted in the Army. Now, that's not the primary goal. Our primary goal for participating in this event is to, number one, invest in America's youth and to communicate to the nation that the Army is more than just muddy-faced soldiers who sleep in a foxhole 24 hours a day. Clearly, that's a tactic trait we have to understand, but we are much broader. It's a door-opening opportunity that empowers today's youth to be all they can be in an Army of one.

SAN MIGUEL: You know, I realize that's not what it's all about, but are you happy with those kinds of recruiting numbers? I mean, do you see room for improvement, you know, or were those pretty much what you were expecting?

CAVIN: Well, we didn't know what to expect in terms of actual enlistments, being last year was our first year. I think this year we'll see more. Our expectation is around 2,000 leads, coming out of this year's event. We've expanded it, as you just mentioned, significantly, and being able to go live on ESPN2 is pretty significant for us too all across the country.

SAN MIGUEL: That does help, I'm sure. So you're using sports, you're using leisure activities, targeting young people, the kind of activities that young people are interested in, also the certain technologies, in particular this video game, America's Army. I did a story on this earlier this year. You were able to download this from Goarmy.com. You can go to an Army recruiting station and get the CD- rom with the game. How successful was America's Army the video game in getting you more recruits?

CAVIN: We've been absolutely delighted with the success of America's Army, which is our new video game. We weren't real sure how this would be accepted across the country, and we've been absolutely amazed, as I said. In fact, according to several of the gaming magazines, it has been the most successfully launched video game ever. On an average day, we'll get 500,000 kids that are playing this game connected or individually all across America, and what's unique about it is it teaches an American populace, our target audience, 17-24- year-olds, what being in the Army is really kind of all about. You get to meet your drill sergeant. You have to go through basic training in a virtual manner before you can qualify to become a member of a team.

So it's quite exciting, and the good things about this game is it reinforces our values, our principles, and teaches a very broad audience what being a soldier is all about.

SAN MIGUEL: It gave you a chance to, like you said, what Army life is about, also gave them a chance to do some shooting, which is what a lot of kids, you know, when they want to play games. Any sequels coming to the video game, do you think?

CAVIN: We plan updates every six months as we add different MOS, different skills to the game itself, and one key point that I'd point out, a lot of people have questioned us about the fact that we are teaching youngsters about shooting. Though they have to go through the qualification on the basic rifle marksmanship range to move on in the game itself, this has a penalty. If you do something wrong, unlike many of the other games, we don't give you points for making bad decisions. If you happen to shoot a friendly force person, there's a penalty to pay for that, so we are reinforcing again the values and the principles of our Army.

SAN MIGUEL: I have to ask you -- this will be the final question here. I know that after September 11, there was an increase in some recruiting that you had seen. And I know that last week, we had a congressman come out saying he would introduce a bill requiring mandatory military service. That was seen, to be fair, more of a kind of a political kind of gambit, you know, kind of an anti- administration gambit, but do you think that a draft is needed? Considering the growing number of threats that America is facing, do you believe that an all-volunteer army can handle those threats?

CAVIN: Our nation has been very pleased with the volunteer force for over 25 years now, and I think America would be absolutely shocked and very pleased at the quality of the soldier that's coming in today. Just as an example, 22 percent of the folks that entered the Army last year had at least one semester of college, and over 3,700 of them had a bachelor's degree.

These are young soldiers who have many options, and they chose to join the Army. The Army was not their last choice. So I think America is very comfortable and satisfied with having an all-volunteer force, particularly one that's trained and ready as they are today for the missions that we face.

SAN MIGUEL: Lieutenant General Dennis Cavin, the head of the U.S. Army's Accessions Command, enjoy the game today, and we hope to have you on again soon. Thanks a lot.

CAVIN: Thank you. It's a great day to be here and a great day to be a soldier.

SAN MIGUEL: It's always a great day to be in San Antonio. Thanks a lot for your time, we appreciate it.

CAVIN: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired January 5, 2003 - 08:39   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: It is a different kind of ground attack for the U.S. Army. Today the top 78 high school football players in the nation hit the field in the U.S. Army's All-American Bowl. Best in the east meets the best of the west. Joining us with more on this and on Army recruiting is Lieutenant General Dennis Cavin. He joins us from San Antonio, one of my favorite cities in my home state of Texas. And General, are you based there at Fort Sam Houston, is that still a going concern, or are just there for the game?
LT. GEN. DENNIS CAVIN, U.S. ARMY: No, we're just here for the game, Renay. My actual headquarters is in Port Moro (ph), Virginia.

SAN MIGUEL: OK. Well, you are in charge of the Army's Accessions Command, as I understand it.

CAVIN: That's correct.

SAN MIGUEL: This is the third year for the Army's All-American Bowl. What kind of activities are we talking about here, besides just a football game, a chance to really meet with some Army folks and talk recruiting?

CAVIN: Well, actually, Renay, this is the second year the Army has sponsored the All-American Bowl, it's the third year for the bowl but it's the second year for the Army to support it. Last year was our first year here in San Antonio.

It's been an exciting week. We've had a tremendous number of activities going on. We've got about 500 high school cheerleaders in here, 20 bands participated in the events, and of course yesterday and today we're running a sophomore and junior combine to look at what might be possible for players for next year. It's a great experience so far for them.

SAN MIGUEL: You know, last year was your first year, as you said. Is there any way to gauge, you know, if you were able to see new recruits coming just because of the All-American Bowl?

CAVIN: Absolutely. We're very sophisticated in our research mechanism, and so when we spend the taxpayers' dollar, we want to be very cognizant of our return on investment. So last year we got a little over 1,300 leads, that's individuals who came to us and said I'd like to know some more information about the Army, and from those 1,300, 48 people actually enlisted in the Army. Now, that's not the primary goal. Our primary goal for participating in this event is to, number one, invest in America's youth and to communicate to the nation that the Army is more than just muddy-faced soldiers who sleep in a foxhole 24 hours a day. Clearly, that's a tactic trait we have to understand, but we are much broader. It's a door-opening opportunity that empowers today's youth to be all they can be in an Army of one.

SAN MIGUEL: You know, I realize that's not what it's all about, but are you happy with those kinds of recruiting numbers? I mean, do you see room for improvement, you know, or were those pretty much what you were expecting?

CAVIN: Well, we didn't know what to expect in terms of actual enlistments, being last year was our first year. I think this year we'll see more. Our expectation is around 2,000 leads, coming out of this year's event. We've expanded it, as you just mentioned, significantly, and being able to go live on ESPN2 is pretty significant for us too all across the country.

SAN MIGUEL: That does help, I'm sure. So you're using sports, you're using leisure activities, targeting young people, the kind of activities that young people are interested in, also the certain technologies, in particular this video game, America's Army. I did a story on this earlier this year. You were able to download this from Goarmy.com. You can go to an Army recruiting station and get the CD- rom with the game. How successful was America's Army the video game in getting you more recruits?

CAVIN: We've been absolutely delighted with the success of America's Army, which is our new video game. We weren't real sure how this would be accepted across the country, and we've been absolutely amazed, as I said. In fact, according to several of the gaming magazines, it has been the most successfully launched video game ever. On an average day, we'll get 500,000 kids that are playing this game connected or individually all across America, and what's unique about it is it teaches an American populace, our target audience, 17-24- year-olds, what being in the Army is really kind of all about. You get to meet your drill sergeant. You have to go through basic training in a virtual manner before you can qualify to become a member of a team.

So it's quite exciting, and the good things about this game is it reinforces our values, our principles, and teaches a very broad audience what being a soldier is all about.

SAN MIGUEL: It gave you a chance to, like you said, what Army life is about, also gave them a chance to do some shooting, which is what a lot of kids, you know, when they want to play games. Any sequels coming to the video game, do you think?

CAVIN: We plan updates every six months as we add different MOS, different skills to the game itself, and one key point that I'd point out, a lot of people have questioned us about the fact that we are teaching youngsters about shooting. Though they have to go through the qualification on the basic rifle marksmanship range to move on in the game itself, this has a penalty. If you do something wrong, unlike many of the other games, we don't give you points for making bad decisions. If you happen to shoot a friendly force person, there's a penalty to pay for that, so we are reinforcing again the values and the principles of our Army.

SAN MIGUEL: I have to ask you -- this will be the final question here. I know that after September 11, there was an increase in some recruiting that you had seen. And I know that last week, we had a congressman come out saying he would introduce a bill requiring mandatory military service. That was seen, to be fair, more of a kind of a political kind of gambit, you know, kind of an anti- administration gambit, but do you think that a draft is needed? Considering the growing number of threats that America is facing, do you believe that an all-volunteer army can handle those threats?

CAVIN: Our nation has been very pleased with the volunteer force for over 25 years now, and I think America would be absolutely shocked and very pleased at the quality of the soldier that's coming in today. Just as an example, 22 percent of the folks that entered the Army last year had at least one semester of college, and over 3,700 of them had a bachelor's degree.

These are young soldiers who have many options, and they chose to join the Army. The Army was not their last choice. So I think America is very comfortable and satisfied with having an all-volunteer force, particularly one that's trained and ready as they are today for the missions that we face.

SAN MIGUEL: Lieutenant General Dennis Cavin, the head of the U.S. Army's Accessions Command, enjoy the game today, and we hope to have you on again soon. Thanks a lot.

CAVIN: Thank you. It's a great day to be here and a great day to be a soldier.

SAN MIGUEL: It's always a great day to be in San Antonio. Thanks a lot for your time, we appreciate it.

CAVIN: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com