ARLINGTON, Va. – The Air National Guard is rolling out sweeping recruiting and retention transformation initiatives – removing accession barriers, expanding enterprise support and reshaping how it competes for the talent required to build dominating air power and ensure wartime readiness.
The Air National Guard has also launched a “Summer Surge Incentive,” which pairs $7,500 bonuses with three-year enlistment contracts, to secure Air National Guard reenlistments and to recruit Airmen looking to transfer from active duty or the Air Force Reserve.
“It is all part of an effort to continue reaching individuals seeking purpose, growth and the opportunity to make a lasting impact,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Mark Williams, director of Recruiting and Retention for the Air National Guard. “As the Air National Guard recapitalizes and modernizes its force to meet the needs of tomorrow, we must also evolve how we recruit and retain the talent our missions require.”
While the Air National Guard has led a string of successful recruiting campaigns in years past, recent efforts highlighted an important lesson for U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. James Chubb, chief, Air National Guard Recruiting and Retention Accessions Branch.
“Standing still is not an option,” he said. “The Air National Guard wins when every state succeeds with recruiting efforts,”
Another new initiative empowers the Air Guard’s highest-producing recruiters to support wings facing the greatest recruiting challenges.
“This initiative creates an enterprise approach to recruiting, allowing us to maximize talent across the nation instead of limiting success to individual states,” said Chubb, adding the measure also significantly expands Air Guard “visibility by saturating key recruiting markets with experienced professionals who consistently produce results.”
Recruiting and Retention’s Marketing Branch launched an enterprise-wide “Guard What Matters” campaign and empowered local marketing teams with a 179% increase in funding while also transitioning wings to a data-driven funding model in lieu of a fixed allocation model.
“Every Airman protects something meaningful – family, community, freedom or future generations,” said Chubb. “This campaign connects military service to those deeply personal motivations while reinforcing the Guard’s unique role as both a community and national defense force.”
To generate reach and a strong social media program, the Marketing Branch created a Collaborator program, which leverages hand-selected social media influencers to provide training, promotion and development support to recruiting teams and wings.
The Air National Guard’s Recruiting and Retention Directorate at the Air National Guard Readiness Center, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, implemented several procedural and policy changes following a collaborative, top-to-bottom analysis of workflows and challenges.
“The best ideas rarely originate at headquarters. They come from the recruiters serving their communities every day,” said Chubb. “Our responsibility is to listen, remove barriers and provide them with every possible advantage to succeed.”
In an effort to unlock recruiting capacity, empower high-performing teams and accelerate state, wing and national end strength growth, Recruiting and Retention implemented a Strength Management Initiative, or SMI, adjustment that gives wings the ability to fill positions at 100% plus four or 10%, whichever is greater, provided the wing maintains 90% or greater effective manning.
“One of our greatest challenges is balancing recruiting success with limited authorized vacancies,” said Chubb. “As recruiters successfully fill formations, available positions naturally become scarce, creating an artificial ceiling on continued growth.”
The SMI, Chubb added, provides states the flexibility to temporarily exceed authorizations while remaining within overall end-strength objectives, allowing the Air Guard to retain recruiting momentum, preserve high-quality talent and build on critical career fields.
“As we approach the end of the fiscal year, every accession and every retained Airman matters,” said Chubb. “By consolidating accession and retention incentives into a focused campaign, we encourage immediate action from qualified applicants while helping commanders retain experienced Airmen.”
Chubb said the future of successful recruitment marketing efforts will depend on collaboration, not competition among recruiters and other services, which is why the Air National Guard Digital Recruiting Training and Standards Program was created “on the philosophy of train, create and collaborate,” Chubb said.
The program aims to create an enterprise where innovative digital media tactics developed by one recruitment team can benefit others – encouraging states to share digital content, recruiting campaigns and community-engagement ideas rather than “work in isolation.”
In the continued spirit of collaboration, the Air Guard established Recruiting Leadership Councils – made up of regional recruiting leaders – that serve to anticipate changes in recruiting markets.
In the end, recruitment efforts shine a light on what the Air Guard has always offered to those who may want to join the ranks of the nation’s primary air reserve component, said Williams, the recruiting and retention director.
“It’s about meaningful work, professional development and the opportunity to serve our nation, state and communities,” he said. “Whether you are a high school graduate, attending college or already established in the workforce, the Air National Guard offers a proven pathway to gain valuable skills, develop as a leader and achieve long-term personal and professional success.”