Georgia Army Guard's Strength Tops 10,000

The Georgia Army National Guard topped over 10,000 Soldiers in 2006 making it one of the top three states in the nation for recruiting in the past year, and jumping Georgia into the top-10 states in terms of total Army Guard size.

The state recruited 2,768 news Soldiers in 2006, and finished the fiscal year with an end-strength of 10,076 Army Guardsmen, which represented a total increase of nearly 900 over the past year.

Lt. Col. Pete Vanamburgh, who commanded the Recruiting and Retention Battalion, said the increase jumped Georgia into the category of the “large” National Guard states which translates into more resources including training funds and full time manpower.

The recruiting success in 2006 far surpassed the National Guard Bureau’s goal for Georgia of 9,350 new accessions. Even more remarkable, it exceeded the “stretch goal” of 10,000 set by Army Guard leadership.

Vanamburgh credits the hard work of the NCO’s in the recruiting force for the successes in 2006, as well as the business practices throughout the Georgia Army Guard.

“We’re also fortunate to be in the great state of Georgia which is supportive of the military and a great recruiting environment,” he added.

The Georgia Army National Guard has seen steady increases in end-strength in the past five years. In 2001, the end-strength was 8,600.The recruiting success comes at a time when all military services nationally have been struggling to meet their quotas.