The National Guard is doubling down on marketing efforts amid struggles to attract new recruits and maintain strength in the post-COVID job ecosystem.
“This is the most challenging recruiting environment the department offense has probably ever faced,” said Air Force Coll. Anthony Pasquale, chief of the Air National Guard Recruiting and Retention Division in a virtual press conference on Wednesday.
Pasquale said the Air National Guard is currently operating at about 96.7% of its authorized 108,400 personnel. The key summer recruitment months present an opportunity to bridge the gap.
Pasquale said the National Guard is easing rules on everything from tattoo policies to body mass index (BMI) requirements to broaden the field of potential recruits, but the competition from the private sector is fierce.
