National Guard raises enlistment bonus
At the end of February, the Army National Guard increased bonuses for people who enlist.
Published April 18, 2006
Because of increased bonuses in the Missouri Army National Guard, recruitment has increased during the past few months, said Sgt. John Wolfmeyer, a recruiter for the Army National Guard.
In December, Missouri became one of five states to start offering bonuses to any of its members that recruit someone new. Also, at the end of February, the Army National Guard increased bonuses for people who enlist.
"For the past year or two, recruitment in Columbia has been good, bucking the national average," Wolfmeyer said. "We've been doing well, and it's probably too big of a coincidence to say it's not because of the bonus."
People who enlist in the guard before May 31 can get an enlistment bonus of up to $20,000 depending on the job they take within the guard, Wolfmeyer said. Some jobs get bonuses of $10,000 to $15,000, but "critical services," including military police, get the largest bonus of $20,000.
The bonus comes in two parts, the first half after military training ends and the other half three years later.
The bonus program began at the end of February and will expire at the end of May.
"We don't know if they'll raise it or lower it," Wolfmeyer said. "The National Guard bureau will determine if recruiting is up enough to keep the bonuses."
Soldiers in the guard also can receive a $2,000 bonus if they recruit someone new, said Master Sgt. Paul Shrum, who is in charge of recruitment for central and northeastern Missouri.
"Recruiting is up," Shrum said. "There are a lot more people wanting to get in the guard and serve their country. That has helped. It's a little more incentive for current members to recruit people. We had a lot of members recruiting people anyway, though."
Although Shrum said recruitment is up in the Army National Guard because of the bonuses, the Web sites for the Navy Reserves and Air National Guard showed no indication of monetary bonus programs in their branches of service. Junior Ryan Burch, a member of the Air National Guard, said in an e-mail that rather than money as a reward for recruitment, he would get to ride in an F-15 fighter jet if he were to recruit three or four new members in the same quarter of the year.
"I haven't recruited anyone because I didn't think I could get that many recruits in that little time," he stated in the e-mail.
Junior Michael Hart, a member of the Army National Guard, said he had heard different things about recruitment numbers.
"Personally, I haven't recruited anyone," Hart said. "I can only speak for people in my unit, but there hasn't been much increase in going out and telling people good things about the guard. As far as I know, we're still under our quota."
Wolfmeyer said people might not need the bonus to want to join the National Guard.
"Most of the time people are wanting to join anyway, and the bonus is just that, a bonus," he said.