I would start off by only really recruiting prisoners and the Peace Sentinel soldiers that accompany minibosses (LAVs, tanks, helicopters, etc.), because everyone else tends to be pretty bad. If you do want to recruit normal soldiers, bring the analyzer with you on missions, and when you're about to Fulton them, analyze them; if they aren't a B or higher, I'd advise against recruiting them. As your departments improve, you'll probably want to fire some of the less useful members in favor of getting better ones, since there are only so many people you can have in each department. When it comes to soldiers in the combat unit, you can do what I mentioned before, or you can play as the soldiers you've recruited in missions, which will increase their skill. Once you unlock Outer Ops, you can send them on missions of their own, which will also improve their abilities. And lastly, Amanda does eventually get out of the hospital, but not until you've completed Chapter 4 of the main story. EDIT: Didn't mean to necrobump. Damn trending topics board...