The United States Army Recruiting and Retention College (RRC), located at Fort Knox, Kentucky, is a satellite school under the United States Army Soldier Support Institute (USASSI) that provides United States Army officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) with the knowledge, skills, and techniques to conduct recruiting and career counselor duties for the United States Army and Army Reserve at the company, battalion, brigade, and headquarters levels.
History
Fort Benjamin Harrison and Fort Jackson With the creation of the U.S. Army Recruiting Command (USAREC) in October 1967, the teaching of the Army's recruiting and retention personnel was conducted by instructors from the United States Army Adjutant General School at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. On July 1, 1983, the United States Army Recruiting and Retention School (RRS) was activated at Fort Benjamin Harrison as the fifth Army school under the United States Army Institute of Personnel and Resource Management (USAIPRM). In August 1984, the Army reorganized USAIPRM as the USASSI where it would oversee eight schools responsible for the training of all Army personnel, finance, music, and recruiting and retention Soldiers.
In April 1991, the United States Congress approved the 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission list, with Fort Benjamin Harrison recommended for closure and units located there moved to other military bases. By October 1995, USASSI and its associated schools had relocated to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, where they continued to train thousands of Soldiers annually for nearly 20 years.
Fort Knox In March 2014, the Army directed the RRS to be reassigned as a brigade under USAREC and relocated to Fort Knox, Kentucky, in order to improve synergy and communication between USAREC headquarters and the RRS and increase the speed that recruiting doctrine and training curriculum was developed and implemented. The move was projected to save the Army more than $14 million per year in training and travel costs by repurposing the headquarters buildings and barracks previously used by the deactivated 3d Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division into a new campus for the RRS.
The relocation process began in July 2014 with instructors and civilian personnel beginning to move or be assigned to Fort Knox, and courses being taught at both Fort Knox and Fort Jackson. By January 2015 all courses had been moved to Fort Knox, and the RRS was formally activated as USAREC's seventh brigade on October 1, 2015; its Headquarters Company was activated one year later on October 1, 2016, to provide better mission command support to the Soldiers and civilians working at the RRS. On October 1, 2017, the RRS was reflagged as the United States Army Recruiting and Retention College (RRC) as part of its incorporation under the Army University system, which integrated all of the Army's professional military education institutions under a single educational structure modeled after many civilian university systems.
Return to USASSI On October 1, 2024, the RRC was reassigned back under the USASSI as part of the recommended changes to the Army accession systems and processes made by the Army Recruiting and Retention Task Force, which included the creation of two new Army MOSs, Talent Acquisition Specialist (42T) for enlisted Soldiers and Talent Acquisition Technician (420T) for warrant officers, that are being taught at the RRC and will eventually replace the current Recruiter (79R) MOS and end detailed recruiting assignments for Soldiers. The RRC co-developed the training courses for the new MOSs in conjunction with training developers at USASSI and serves as the lead agency for the training and development of the 42T and 420T students.
Accreditation The RRC is one of 27 Army Centers of Excellence (CoE), Colleges, and Schools under the Army University system and is accredited by the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Quality Assurance Office to provide military education and issue diplomas and transcripts to military and civilian students. It is one of only 45 U.S. military and government training institutions to earn civilian accreditation from the Council on Occupational Education (CoE).
Courses at the RRC have been evaluated by the American Council on Education (ACE) for awarding of civilian college credit hours towards undergraduate degrees and certificates based on ACE guidelines, and the RRC has Continuing Education Degree Program agreements with several colleges and universities to provide course graduates with accelerated degree plans and college credit hours towards associate's, bachelor's, and master's degrees from those institutions.
Campus
The RRC campus consists of 11 buildings located on approximately 80 acres (326,987 m2) at Fort Knox, Kentucky, which house the executive, academic, and administrative offices, classrooms, and student housing, as well as three support facilities that provide dining, physical fitness and recreational activities. The campus layout provides students with an under 10-minute walk between their housing, classrooms, dining, physical fitness, and recreation, thus reducing the need for a vehicle while attending. Several campus buildings are named after historic people or events from the 3d Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division units that previously used them.
Tempesta Hall is the main academic and administrative building on the RRC campus. Named after U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Anthony Tempesta, who was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions during World War II, it is home to the RRC's executive, administrative, and institutional support offices and 26 classrooms that can teach between 16 and 40 students each. The RRC Annex building, located next to Tempesta Hall, is a multipurpose facility with three modular classrooms spaces that can each be configured to teach between 24 and 96 students using retractable wall panels, two standard 16-student classrooms, a conference room, and offices for the RRC's academic department leaders and instructors. The U.S. Army Medical Recruiting Brigade headquarters is located on the top floor of the Annex . The RRC Noncommissioned Officer Academy is located across the street from Tempesta Hall. Originally housed in the RRC Annex, the facility was established in February 2024 and is home to the Senior Leader Courses for Army military occupational specialty (MOS) codes 79R (Recruiter) and 79S (Career Counselor). The RRC Student Housing Complex and Balcombe Barracks Complex consist of nine barracks buildings that can house nearly 900 students. The rooms meet the U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD) "1+1 Standard," which consists of a two-bedroom apartment with separate bedrooms and closets for each occupant and a shared bathroom, kitchenette, and common area. The RRC Complex has upgraded rooms including a four-burner stove with oven, full-size refrigerator/freezer, and a dining table with four chairs. Three support facilities are located adjacent to the RRC and provide services to both the RRC and the Fort Knox community:
The Cantigny Dining Facility provides students with meals while attending courses at the RRC. Named in honor of the Battle of Cantigny, which was the first major combat engagement for both the American Expeditionary Forces and 1st Infantry Division Soldiers during World War I, the facility is managed by the Fort Knox Logistics Readiness Center and is operated by a government contractor. It is located between the student housing complexes and classroom buildings and is open nearly year round regardless of weather conditions to provide meals to students attending the RRC as well as other schools and training courses at Fort Knox. The Natcher Physical Fitness Center, located across from the RRC Annex building, provides physical fitness facilities for both the RRC and Fort Knox. The center is managed by the Fort Knox Family and Morale, Welfare, and Recreation office and is used to by both the RRC and the Fort Knox community to conduct the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) and daily physical fitness activities for both students and RRC Soldiers. It houses three full-court basketball/volleyball courts, two glass-enclosed racquetball courts, strength training area, aerobic exercise room, and elevated indoor track. Outside is a 400 meter rubber-surface running track, 1-mile gravel-surface running trail, athletic field, pull-up bars, obstacle course, and outdoor fitness equipment. The Balcombe Recreation Center, located in the Balcombe Barracks Complex, provides entertainment and recreation services to RRC students and the Fort Knox community. The center is managed by the Fort Knox Family and Morale, Welfare, and Recreation office and has a wide selection of services including computer, Xbox, and PlayStation gaming stations, free movie and video game checkout, movie theater room, sports room with projector screen, billiards, table tennis, electronic dartboards, foosball tables, flag football and dodgeball equipment, and outdoor volleyball, basketball, and tennis courts.
Organizational structure More than 150 active duty and Active Guard and Reserve Army soldiers, Department of the Army (DA) Civilians, and U.S. government contractor employees work in the executive office, Headquarters Company, two instructional departments, noncommissioned officer academy, and 12 academic and administrative support divisions. The RRC trains approximately 6,500 Soldiers and civilians each year in one of 16 in-person or online courses covering recruiting, career counseling, staff functions, recruiting leadership, unit command, and executive leadership.
Leadership The RRC is commanded by a colonel who serves as the institution's commandant and leads its educational and operational activities in accordance with Army, TRADOC, and USAREC regulations and policies. They are assisted by a Command Sergeant Major who serves as both the RRC senior enlisted advisor and commandant of the RRC Noncommissioned Officer Academy (NCOA), a DA civilian that serves as the RRC's Dean/Chief Academic Officer and supervises its eight academic support divisions, and a lieutenant colonel that serves as the RRC's chief of staff (CofS) supervising its four administrative support divisions and providing oversight of the RRC Headquarters Company (HHC).
Instructor Selection Senior recruiting and career counselor NCOs may be considered for instructor duty by either volunteering or being selected for screening by RRC, USAREC, and U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) personnel. They must have demonstrated exceptional performance in multiple recruiting or retention leadership positions, be eligible for assignment to the RRC, and pass an interview process to be selected as an instructor. Selected NCOs typically serve a two to three-year assignment as an instructor teaching one to three individual courses, and may volunteer to serve an additional one to two years in an academic or administrative support position. Headquarters Company
The Headquarters Company (HHC) is responsible for the health, morale, welfare, training, discipline, conduct, and combat readiness of Soldiers assigned to the RRC. Commanded by a captain who is assisted by a first sergeant and several military and civilian staff members, the HHC is responsible for providing mission command, logistics, military justice, training and readiness, administrative support, and quality of life functions for the RRC's Soldiers and students.
Instructional departments