Guard recruitment exceeding goals
Don Davis Worthington Daily Globe
Published Saturday, July 19, 2008
ST. PAUL The Minnesota Army National Guard is attracting more
recruits than any other part of the military and is exceeding its
recruiting goals.
Of all military personnel in Minnesota, 43 percent go to the Army
National Guard, recruiter 2nd Lt. Mindy Davis said.
"That means that in Minnesota that the Army National Guard is far and
away the No. 1 choice," Davis said.
Across the country, about 20 percent of military enlistees sign up
for the Army Guard. Indiana and Mississippi Army Guard units attract
about the same percentage as Minnesota. There are 11,556 Minnesota
Army National Guard members.
In every part of the state, Minnesota Army Guard recruiters are
beating their goals for a recruiting year that ends in September.
In the southwest, for instance, 181 recruits enlisted, compared to a
goal of 55. In each the northwest and the northeast, recruiters
exceeded their goals of 32 by 126 men and women.
And Davis said the recruits are quality.
"We are not scraping the bottom of the barrel," she said. Recruits
must pass a physical and a written aptitude test to be considered.
Enlistees are coming to the Guard even though in many rural areas
there are fewer young people to sign up.
"The deployments have gotten us a lot of media attention," said
Davis, a former Olivia newspaper editor. "Communities have rallied
around their local soldiers."
Unlike the active military branches, the Guard is community based,
which provides a closer connection to residents, especially in rural areas.
"People are asking questions about who we are and what we do," Davis said.
The Minnesota Guard also is posting among the country's best
retention rates. Ninety percent of recruits who enlist stay on
through basic training and individual job training exercises. That is
a notable accomplishment, Davis said, because while active duty
recruits go straight to basic training after enlistment, Guard
recruits may not complete basic training and job training until two
years after enlistment. "We can lose people more easily," she said.
Willmar-based recruiter Sgt. 1st Class Sarah Stafford said like their
comrades from large metropolitan areas, rural Minnesotans enlist
because they want to serve the country and the Guard's education
benefits are attractive. State and federal aid can result in free
college education for Guard members, and they can receive additional
pay and benefits.
"At this time, you have to want to be able to serve because we're all
over the world right now and your chances of deploying are greater,"
Stafford said.
Still, increased use of Guard soldiers in combat zones such as Iraq
and Afghanistan has not hurt recruitment, Stafford said.
Stafford said she focuses her recruiting efforts on high schools and
a local community college. "We need to get them then," she said of
appealing to young people before some of them leave rural areas for
schooling or jobs in larger cities.
Sgt. Major Tim Bebus of the Army National Guard's recruiting unit
attributed the Minnesota numbers to skilled recruiters, the "high
quality" of men and women willing to serve and the relationships
formed among the Guard and local communities.
--
State Capitol reporter Scott Wente contributed to this story. Davis
and Wente work for Forum Communications Co., which owns the Daily Globe.
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Tribune Editorial: Cheers to Minnesota Guard for high recruitment
DL-Online
Published Saturday, July 19, 2008
The United States may be fighting in both Iraq and Afghanistan, but
that hasn't stopped young people from joining the National Guard, at
least in Minnesota.
In fact, the Minnesota Army National Guard is attracting more
recruits than any other part of the military and is exceeding its
recruiting goals according to our St. Paul Bureau reporters, Don
Davis and Scott Wente.
In Minnesota, 43 percent of those who join the military go into the
Army National Guard making it the No. 1 choice for military service
in the state, at a rate more than twice the national average.
Davis reports that in every part of the state, Minnesota Army Guard
recruiters are beating their goals in many cases, soundly beating
them for a recruiting year that ends in September.
In the northwest region, recruiters exceeded their goal of 32 new men
and women by 126 recruits. Ditto for the northeast region. In the
southwest, 181 recruits enlisted, far surpassing the goal of 55.
And the recruits are strong candidates who have passed pass a
physical and a written aptitude test.
Deployments to Iraq and other places in recent years have not hurt
recruitment, Davis reports, and in fact may have helped in the long
run, by rallying communities behind their soldiers.
The Minnesota Guard also boasts one of the country's best retention
rates. Ninety percent of recruits who enlist stay on through basic
training and individual job training.
That's quite an accomplishment, Davis reports, because while active
duty recruits go straight to basic training after enlistment, Guard
recruits may not complete basic training and job training until two
years after enlistment, making it much easier to lose recruits.
Minnesotans enlist because they are patriotic, and because the
National Guard offers strong education benefits. One recruiter said
state and federal aid can mean free college education for Guard
members, and they can receive additional pay and benefits.
Sgt. Major Tim Bebus of the Army National Guard's recruiting unit
attributed the Minnesota numbers to skilled recruiters, the "high
quality" of men and women willing to serve and the relationships
formed among the Guard and local communities.
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