National Guard shifts strategy to attract recruits
Free hunting and fishing licenses. More chances to get signing bonuses. Pink T-shirts for women. The Army National Guard, which has fallen short of recruiting goals during the prolonged fighting in Iraq, is trying new marketing beyond the traditional enticement of college tuition aid. "There are fewer people who are voluntarily expressing an interest -- calling or returning postcards," said Lt. Col. Dan Kenkel, spokesman for the Guard in Nebraska. Nationally, the Army Guard reached 88 percent of its goal of 56,000 recruits by the end of September, signing up 49,210. "Recruiting is tougher than it's been in awhile," said James Sims, spokesman for the Ohio Guard, which is about 500 off its target of 2,100 recruits. Guard officials around the country blame concerns about the Iraq war, Pentagon orders that keep some soldiers from leaving active duty and going into the Guard, and turnover among recruiters, some of whom have been sent overseas. Of the 100,000 Army Guard members sent to Iraq, about 110 have died. In the past, young people saw enlisting as a way to get college tuition with little risk to themselves, said Lt. Col. Greg Hapgood, spokesman for the Iowa National Guard. "Today, that risk has changed," he said.
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