Thursday, June 17, 2004 | 11:04 a.m.
The U.S. military's continued reliance on the National Guard for duty in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world means the old recruiting pitch of "one weekend a month and two weeks a year" is no longer an option.
At Las Vegas National Guard recruiting offices, the running joke has become: One weekend a month and two weeks a year -- give or take a war here or there.
"You have to let the recruits know up front that if they sign up they have to expect to see some time in a theater overseas in action," said Sgt. Maj. Aldo Martinez, head of National Guard recruiting and retention for Southern Nevada. "You have to be straight forward and let them know what is ahead of them during their six-year commitment."
Despite the greater chances that National Guard soldiers will see combat, Martinez says that Southern Nevada is on pace to meet recruiting quotas.
The Southern Nevada quota for new Air and Army national guard recruits is 247 enlistments by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
Since October 2003 the Guard has recruited 195 soldiers toward the 247-person goal.
"We're averaging about 23 enlistments a month," Martinez said.
Overall there are 2,062 Nevada National Guard soldiers, and about 350,000 Guard soldiers nationwide.
The Department of Defense is leaning heavily on the Guard and the approximately 110,000 Reservists nationwide to cover far-flung operations including the war in Iraq and continuing operations in Afghanistan. A total of 168,316 Guard and Reserve troops are currently on active duty.
Martinez said he and other recruiters find themselves answering more questions from parents than they did in the past.
"The parents have concerns because the National Guard is no longer seen as this safe haven for their children," Martinez said. "We have had instances where parents have terminated enlistments."
Lt. Col. Patrick Nary, who is with the U.S. Army's 6th Recruiting Brigade stationed in Las Vegas, said that parents are also showing more concern when they come to him with a child wanting to join the Army.
"I can understand where they are coming from because they are giving their children to something that could lead to the ultimate sacrifice," Nary said. "It's a difficult choice, but the youth that we see coming in are here because they want to be. It's something they want to do."
Locally, the 6th Recruiting Brigade is on pace to meet its recruiting goals by the end of the fiscal year in October, Nary said. Since October 2003 a total of 263 active duty recruits for the Army and 50 Army Reservists have signed up in the Las Vegas area, in addition to the Guard enlistments, Nary said.
Nary's brigade, headquartered in Las Vegas, is in charge of recruiting for all the Western states including: Nevada, Texas, Arizona, California and others. The unit is responsible for about 20 percent of all Army recruitment. Overall Army recruiters are tasked with signing up 77,000 active duty recruits and 21,200 reservists for the 2003-2004 fiscal year.
Martinez said he expects the number of active duty recruits will be increased by as much as 30,000 next year to help take some of the pressure off the guard and reserves.
"The downsizing of the armed forces in the past is really hurting us and it's causing the National Guard to have to back fill the positions that aren't there anymore," Martinez said. "I think we'll get back to being reserve forces, but it may take some time."
Maj. Gen. Charles Wilson, second in command of the Army's reserve forces, said at last week's Guard and Reserve national convention in Salt Lake City that the heavy reliance on reserve soldiers requires a change in the culture and identity of the armed forces.
"We're no longer in reserve," Wilson said. "We're complimentary and indispensable. We need to learn to be warriors, not just technicians."
Basic training has been revamped for the guard and reserves to add more combat training because of the greater likelihood that these soldiers will face combat, Martinez said.
Another change is in the motivation for the recruits, said Nary, who compared the recruiting process now to what he has heard it was like during and after World War II when patriotism fueled volunteers.
"We used to get a lot more people coming in asking about college tuition and jobs, but now patriotism is the big selling point," Nary said. "They know there is a job to do and they want to give back."
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