COLUMBUS - Two Soldiers from the 237th Personnel Services Battalion helped mark a significant milestone March 3 in the Ohio Army National Guard's yearlong participation in the Guard Recruiting Assistance Program.
Spc. Jeremy Bennett, a Soldier with the 237th PSB, was presented with an oversized $1,000 check for his enlistment referral of Pvt. James Hoffman, who on Feb. 15 joined Troop C, 2nd Squadron, 107th Cavalry Regiment, located in Greenville. The ceremony marked the 1,000th enlistment the OHARNG has gained through the Guard Recruiting Assistance Program (G-RAP).
"Private Hoffman represents how G-RAP and the efforts of our Soldiers as recruiter assistants serve as a significant combat multiplier in our strength maintenance efforts," said Brig. Gen. Matthew L. Kambic, Ohio assistant adjutant general for Army, who presented the check to Bennett during a ceremony at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base during the 237th's March drill assembly.
Since December 2005, when the OHARNG began its participation in G-RAP, Ohio has become the No. 1 state in total recruiter assistants with more than 5,000 Soldiers enrolled in the program, according to Docupak, Inc., the company that administers G-RAP nationwide. With Hoffman's enlistment, it marks more than $2 million total to be paid to Ohio recruiter assistants in the first 15 months of the state's involvement in the program.
"At the end of the day, we will have put two million dollars in the pockets of our Soldiers while at the same time building the greatest readiness we've had in a decade," Kambic said.
This voluntary program allows any Soldier to be a part-time recruiter assistant and earn up to $2,000 for every new Soldier that joins the National Guard-$1,000 when the new Soldier enlists and another $1,000 when he or she ships to basic training.
The program not only boosts the overall economy of Ohio, but can improve the well-being of Ohio's Citizen-Soldiers as well. As an alternative to the cash incentive, guardmembers can opt for a year of individual health care for one enlistment, or earn a year of family coverage for facilitating three contracts, according to Diane Farrow, OHARNG Recruiting Command marketing director.
Exemplary of how profitable G-RAP can be for enterprising Soldiers, Spc. Robbie McBride, also a member of the 237th PSB, received an oversized check for $6,000 from Kambic for six successful enlistment referrals, with the potential to earn $6,000 more when the enlistees go to basic training.
Although McBride has already recruited his sister and is now working to bring his father into the Guard, he credited his wife, Carissa, as the driving force behind his recruiting success.
"She does all the work," said McBride, adding that his wife engages potential recruits and talks about the benefits of joining the National Guard wherever she is, whether at the gas station, a social gathering or on the Internet.