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Guard Triples Enlistment
Bonuses |
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In response to continued recruiting difficulties, the
National Guard is tripling the cash bonuses it will pay
for some new recruits and for current Guard soldiers
willing to re-enlist, the Guard's top general said. Lt.
Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau,
unveiled new initiatives intended to boost the Army
National Guard's lagging personnel rolls. Blum briefed
reporters at the Pentagon. Among the initiatives:
- A $15,000 bonus for new Guard recruits who have
served in the military, triple the previous figure.
- A $15,000 bonus for Guard soldiers who will
re-enlist for six years, also three times the
previous amount.
- A $10,000 bonus for recruits who have never
served in the military, up from $6,000 and now the
largest bonus the Guard has offered such recruits.
The Guard and Army Reserve are struggling with
recruiting problems related to the Pentagon's reliance
on part-time military personnel to fight wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan. About 40% of the 148,000 U.S. troops in
Iraq are Guard and reserve soldiers. In peacetime, Guard
and reserve troops usually train one weekend a month and
two weeks in the summer. But thousands are now serving
full-time combat tours of a year or more. For more
information, see
this article.
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