Begun on February 28, 1963, the nationwide program sought to add 2,000 nurses.[2] At its peak, almost 150 people were working to sign up nurses.[3] Recruiters "lecturing at high schools, universities, and career fairs, placing advertisements in stores, making radio announcements and TV commercials, and at times enlisting celebrity endorsements." They said that “women would experience an equality with men that they would not find in the civilian world.”[4]
The operation included an 'Army Student Nurse Program', which offered to help a nurse pay for their education in return for service in the corps. The program accounted for most of the nurses who joined the ANC during the Vietnam War, and was utilized by around 600 nurses every year it was in operation. Other efforts to train nurses included through a four-year degree offered through the Walter Reed Army Institute of Nursing (associated with the University of Maryland). While the ANC did gain some nurses through these efforts, they were hindered by the time it took to train students, often several years. The ANC never overcame a shortage of nurses during the Vietnam War.[5]