Posted on 03/12/2006 2:38:09 AM PST by neverdem
WASHINGTON — The Army National Guard, which has suffered a severe three-year recruiting slump, has begun to reel in soldiers in record numbers, aided in part by a new initiative that pays Guard members $2,000 for each person they enlist.
The Army Guard said Friday that it signed up more than 26,000 soldiers in the first five months of fiscal 2006, exceeding its target by 7 percent in its best performance in 13 years. Guard leaders say they are confident they will reach their goal of boosting staffing from 336,000 to the congressionally authorized 350,000 by the end of the year.
"Will we make 350,000? The answer is: Absolutely," said Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau.
The rebound is striking because since 2003, the Army Guard has had the worst annual recruiting than any other branch of the military. The Guard was shrinking while it was being asked to shoulder a big part of the burden in Iraq. Together with the Army Reserve, it supplied up to 40 percent of the troops in Iraq while sending tens of thousands of members to domestic disasters.
In recent months, the Guard enlisted nearly as many troops as the active-duty Army, even though it is a much smaller force. Indeed, the Army Guard, present in about 3,500 U.S. communities, will launch pilot programs this year to recruit for the entire Army.
--snip--
One factor in the success is the initiative that christened 31,000 Guard members nationwide as "recruiting assistants" who can earn $2,000 for every enlistee: $1,000 when the recruit signs a contract and another $1,000 when he or she enters boot camp or completes four months of service.
This program is amazing and will succeed. The top brass have finally figured out that enlisted individuals would prefer to gain some green than a mug or poster.....which for a long time was all they offered to soldiers re-enlisting. Having worked as a Retention Specialist, I know how frustrated a soldier can get when he feels like his personal sacrifice as much as a white elephant gift exhange in value.
They actually handed me a coffee mug once which when turned over showed it was made in Communist China.
LOL!
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I haven't RTFA yet, but a big factor is the payment of bonuses to Guard members who recruit another guardsman, too. Most of these Guard vets have already done at least one tour -- and they're staying in, and talking friends into joining.
Dunno if the original article mentions this program.
The component that's suffering is the Army Reserve, as there are very few checks on their deployments and many of their jobs in the logistical world, etc., have little glamor. I think the MPs running the roads in Iraq saw more danger than a lot of combat arms guys.
d.o.l.
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