Recruiting Bonuses Now Available to Retirees

Georgia Army Guard retirees looking for a way to continue serving the Guard, and have a hand keeping the force strong while supplementing their monthly check, now have the opportunity to do that.

The National Guard Recruiting Assistance Program (G-RAP), announced recently that eligible retirees may become recruiting assistants for the Army Guard.

Once hired and trained, G-RAP recruiting assistants may receive free recruiting incentive items and up to $2,000 for each Soldier they help enlist. Some participants also may receive additional incentives, such as health care insurance coverage.

The program, which began as an experiment last year, doesn’t limit the number of potential soldiers a recruiting assistant can bring into the Guard, said officials from Docupak Inc., which administers the nationwide G-RAP. A recruiting assistant receives an initial payment of $1,000, followed by a second $1,000 payment upon successful shipment of a non-prior service recruit to basic training.

For helping enlist a prior-service member, the recruiting assistant receives the initial payment of $1,000 upon the recruit's enlistment in the Army Guard. The second $1,000 payment comes after the new Soldier successfully drills with his new unit of 120 days.

Docupak figures for October show that the incentive program led to perhaps the greatest recruiting boost ever for the Army Guard. In fiscal year 2006, for example, the Army Guard, nationwide, experienced a net growth of 13,111 Soldiers. This surpassed the organization’s 34,875 reenlistment goal by more than 6,200.

With G-RAP such a boon for the Army Guard, Lt. Gen. Craig McKinley, Air Guard director, told attendees at the 2006 National Guard Association of the United States General Conference that he is working to adopt the program for the Air Guard.

To date, more than 90,000 Army recruiting assistants have participated in the program.

For more information, interested retirees should visit www.guardrecruitingassistant.com.