National Guard to start refer-a-soldier program

updated 3:39 p.m. ET Aug. 28, 2007

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Army, struggling to meet recruitment goals in the midst of a long and unpopular war in Iraq, is turning to the National Guard for help in signing up would-be soldiers in hometowns across America.

Army leaders are quietly working out final details of a program that would give bonuses of $2,000 per recruit to any National Guard soldier who brings somebody into the active duty Army.

Army Secretary Pete Geren disclosed the plan in an interview with The Associated Press, calling it an innovative effort to get broader reach into local communities.

The Guard members, Geren said, are “much more in contact with the civilian population than the active duty soldier is. So they give us reach into a larger segment of the community on a personal level, a one to one basis, than we get through our recruiting relationships.”

National Guard “recruiting assistants” already earn bonuses for signing up new members of the Guard, and one former Marine was so successful that he earned nearly $100,000.

Under the new plan, a recruit would join the Guard but indicate that they are intending to shift to active duty. After they finish basic training they would either sign up for 30, 36 or 48 months in the active Army, or change their mind and simply stay in the Guard.

Soldiers to be part of recruiting force
The Army secretary said the impact of the new Guard program would be felt next year when Guard soldiers will “become an important part of the active recruiting force.”

The secretary says “they would recruit soldiers into the active component,” adding that the recruits would then have continuing obligations in the reserves.

The Army initially expects to gain about 1,600 recruits next year through what they’re calling the “Active First” program, according to Lt. Col. Ron Walls, chief of enlisted recruiting and retention for the Army National Guard.

Guard officials see the new plan as a boost for them, even though it could remove soldiers from the Army Guard ranks and shift them into active duty positions for 30 to 48 months.

“It’s a win-win for both the Army and the National Guard,” said Walls. While the active Army gets a new soldier, “we gain some (recruiting) growth immediately, and in the long run we gain a higher readiness level.”

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