Army Guard Recruiting Surges

After a three-year disappointing recruiting record, the Army National Guard is now enlisting soldiers in record numbers. The guard said March 10 that it had signed up more than 26,000 soldiers in the first five months of fiscal 2006. This puts it 7 percent above quota, and on the way to its goal of going from 336,000 to its authorized strength of 350,000 by the end of the year. Three factors are contributing to the success, say officials. First, Guard members who have returned from Iraq are networking with friends, neighbors and co-workers. Second, the Guard has established a rotation cycle designed to keep members home five years for every year of deployment. And third, the Guard has launched a nationwide program in which 31,000 members – to be expanded to 65,000 — are “recruiting assistants,” who earn $2,000 for each member they enlist.