National Guard Falling Short

Of Recruiting Goals

HARTFORD (AP) — Facing more frequent and dangerous deployments, the Connecticut National Guard is having trouble recruiting and retaining guardsmen, with nearly a quarter of authorized positions going unfilled.

The Guard has 4,233 approved positions, but 1,024 were vacant according to a headcount last week, said Lt Col John Whitford, a Guard spokesman.

The problems are more serious in other categories. The Guard has only 190 junior officers this month out of 270 authorized positions.

The Guard was hoping to recruit 117 new members in the October-to-December period, but is less than halfway to that goal. Lt Col Whitford said there is no way the Guard is going to reach the recruiting target by the end of the month.

The officer candidates’ class that began last summer had only seven people, compared with an average 15 to 20.

While recruiting numbers have dropped, longtime veterans are opting out, said Maj Gen William Cugno, adjutant general of the Connecticut Guard. Guardsmen who have served 20 years are getting out in their early 40s, he said.

“Those people used to stay until they were 60 so they could make sergeant major or colonel,” Gen Cugno told The Day of New London. “Those are the people, the guys I want to keep. They retire, I have a void of middle-level managers. I need to have somebody to take a serious look at that.”

Gen Cugno is trying to boost enlistment by bringing in new recruiters. He has also received authorization to provide new benefits such as a $2,000 bonus for recruits who agree to change to much-needed specialty positions.

There are several factors contributing to the recruiting problems, Gen Cugno said. Parents are persuading their children to not join the Guard for the educational benefits, and the Army is prohibiting people from leaving the service in time of war. He said the Guard used to attract a lot of people coming off active duty.

Guardsmen are concerned about the way their units are being deployed. The Defense Department is deploying one-quarter of its Guard and Reserve units at a time, while one-quarter of units are preparing to deploy and the rest are in training.

“General Cugno’s observations are very realistic,” said Sgt 1st Class John Lane, Jr, of the 247th Engineer Co. in New London, who deployed to Iraq in 2002 and ‘03. “There are a lot of people who are concerned.

“Fundamentally, the rules of the game have changed in terms of participating in the Guard and Reserve,” he said. “We always realized we could get called up, but the prospect of getting called up every few years, that’s a different beast.”

Sgt Lane, who is married with two boys, ages 7 and 11, and has a full-time job as a geophysicist with the US Geologic Survey, was eligible to retire before he was deployed to Iraq in 2002 and ‘03, but stayed in to go with the members of his unit.

His enlistment was up when he got home.

“I did extend this time, but the next time it comes around, I’m going to have to weigh it very carefully,” he said.