3/28/2005 - National Guard Bureau News
By Master Sgt. Bob Haskell
ARLINGTON, Va. - The Army National Guard has retained 73 percent more soldiers during the past three months than it retained during the same period last year, officials reported on Good Friday.
That was the good news from people like Army Guard Maj. Gregg Bliss and Maj. Ronald Lee Jr. who are responsible for keeping Soldiers in the Guard. Bliss is chief of the Retention Branch for the Army Guard. Lee is the Incentives Program Manager for the Strength Maintenance Division.
They are among the Recruiting and Retention people who are striving to make sure the Army Guard meets its goal of 350,000 Soldiers by Oct. 1.
Those men credit this year’s significant increase in reenlistment bonuses and the retention teams currently serving with Guard Soldiers in combat zones as among the reasons why many more men and women are remaining in the Guard during the global war on terrorism.
The bonuses (related story) have been increased from the maximum amount of $5,000 to as much as $15,000 for Soldiers who reenlist or extend their periods of service by six years.
“We want to keep our Soldiers. We’re putting our money where our mouth is,” said LTG H Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, when he announced the increase in bonuses in mid-December.
The retention numbers have more than doubled since then. Lee reported that 3,106 more Guard Soldiers reenlisted from Dec. 14, 2004 to March 25, 2005, than reenlisted during the same time in 2003-04.
The total was 5,388 reenlistments for the most recent quarter, when the maximum bonuses have been $15,000, as opposed to 2,282 reenlistments for the same quarter during the previous year, when the maximum bonuses were $5,000, he said.
“The new bonuses have been a great tool for retaining our force,” Lee said. “The impact is about on line with where I thought it would be. I suspected we’d get a pretty high reenlistment rate. A lump sum payment of $15,000 is pretty significant.”
The Army Guard now offers a lump sum payment of $15,000 to Soldiers who reenlist or extend for six years. It also offers an option of two, three-year bonuses. Reenlisting Soldiers can receive a lump sum of $7,500 for the first three years and $6,000 for the second three years.
“Our challenge is to get the bonuses where we need them and not break the bank,” Lee added.
He cited three reasons for the success.
-- The maximum bonuses have been increased from $5,000 to $15,000.
-- The maximum number of years of service for which Guard Soldiers are eligible for these bonuses have been increased from 14 to 16.
-- Soldiers who have already received one reenlistment bonus can get another bonus for reenlisting again.
More money is available for other incentives, such as the G.I. Bill for Soldiers who wish to continue their education, said Lee who explained his budget for all incentives is $307 million for this fiscal year compared to $229.5 million for 2004.
Most of the Soldiers who reenlist are considered careerists, men and women who have stayed in beyond their initial eight-year obligation because they like serving their country and because they can eventually collect retirement pay.
“Historically, we have retained 80 percent of our careerists and 65 percent of our obligors,” Bliss reported.
He cited other factors that are also working in the Army Guard’s favor.
The number of recruiters has been increased from 2,700 to 4,100. That means there are more people on duty to recruit new Soldiers and work with those who are thinking about leaving the Guard.
Cells of retention Soldiers have been deployed to Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan to encourage Soldiers whose enlistments are nearing an end to remain in the Guard after they return to their homes.
Leaders are listening to the families’ comments about why the Soldiers are getting out, and they are addressing those concerns.
“It helps with retention to identify and do something about the factors that keep people from reenlisting,” Bliss said.
“We’ve gotten a lot smarter about keeping Soldiers,” he added. “Therefore, more are staying in to take advantage of the incentives that are available to them.”
Sarah Fischer focuses on the portrait of her deceased husband, Nebraska Army National Guard Sgt. Jeremy Fisher, at the Faces of the Fallen exhibit which opened on March 23 at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial, the gateway to Arlington National Cemetery. (Photo by Master Sgt. Bob Haskell)