Age limit up for recruits

Age limit up for serving in recruit-starved National Guard and Reserve
Sig Christenson, San Antonio Express 

On the eve of the second anniversary of Gulf War II, the Army said Friday it would immediately raise the age limit for serving in the recruit-starved National Guard and Reserve.

Billed as a three-year test, the rule allowing people just under age 40 to join won’t apply to the Army.

Federal law limits active-duty services from accepting recruits who are 35 or older.

Observers say the action is tailored to meet the wartime needs of the Guard and Reserve, which have shouldered a larger share of the burden in Iraq and Afghanistan but have seen recruiting slip in recent months.

“I think it’s a sign of desperation,” former Reagan administration Assistant Defense Secretary Lawrence Korb said….

Recruiting wasn’t a Pentagon problem when President Bush launched the war in Iraq two years ago today. But prospects for the services to sign up new enlistees have gone the way of the war, which opened with a lightning victory but evolved into a bloody insurgency.

The Guard and Reserve, which make up 40 percent of U.S. troops in Iraq, have fought a losing battle since last fall to recruit new soldiers and keep their veterans in uniform.

The Army Recruiting Command’s Douglas Smith said the Guard fell 1,823 soldiers short of its February goal. The Reserve also failed to meet its mark. He cited the war and an improving economy as factors in the downturn.

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Ted Stroup, deputy chief of staff for the Army from 1994-96, also noted that few active-duty troops have crossed over to the Reserve component. Those soldiers long have been a critical source of renewal for the Guard and Reserve, he and others say.

The Army National Guard’s top commander, Lt. Gen. Roger Schultz, told the San Antonio Express-News the all-volunteer force has reached a “significant moment” in its 31-year history.

He said the question now is if it can “deliver the required numbers of soldiers, numbers of units over a sustained period” as the war on terrorism ensues.

Schultz said he believes it will prevail. But he warned the Guard has so far mobilized 108,459 soldiers for federal service and will be able to send enough soldiers to Iraq only through next year. After that it will have mobilized two-thirds of its 333,632-strong force and won’t be able to deploy as many troops to Iraq during 2007, he said.

“We’ll get through 2006,” said Schultz, a Guardsman who led rifle and scout platoons in Vietnam after being called up in 1969. “It’s the missions beyond 2006, at the current levels, we will not be able to sustain.”

The decision to raise the age limit is the first such action of its kind in at least 20 years, said Army Maj. Elizabeth Robbins. She and others familiar with the issue say the rule change aims to widen the recruit pool, but no projections were available on how many people might join.

An Army statement touted the age bump as a plus, saying, “experience has shown that older recruits who can meet the physical demands of military service generally make excellent soldiers.” It went on to say that applicants must meet the same eligibility standards, including medical and entrance exams.

Army Maj. Gen. Wayne D. Marty, said the decision would open the door for older Americans to put on the uniform.

“Why do we restrict them from doing that if they want to come into the military at age 40 and they have the capability of staying 20 years?” he asked, noting that federal law allows part-time career troops to begin drawing their monthly annuity checks at age 60.

“A 40-year-old is not a old guy anymore,” Marty said.

But Korb, former assistant defense secretary for manpower and reserve affairs, wondered how many 39-year-olds would join the Guard as a private especially when they’d be taking orders from 25-year-old sergeants. “I don’t think they’re going to get many takers,” he said.

Stroup and retired Marine Lt. Gen. Bernard Trainor, a combat commander in Korea and Vietnam, shared Korb’s view that the decision to raise the age limit was driven by grim trends.

“I think it’s a good move, they’ll get good, patriotic Americans, but it is indicative of the fact that the propensity to join is down,” Stroup explained.

“They’re hurting, I don’t think there’s any question of it,” Trainor said, adding that summer will make or break this year’s recruiting campaign because it’s traditionally the peak period for signing up new troops.

“I don’t know if they’re getting desperate, but they’re certainly getting anxious.”