National Guard: New recruit contracts may be voided if bonuses fall through

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National Guard: New recruit contracts may be voided if bonuses fall through
By Lisa Burgess, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Saturday, January 12, 2008

ARLINGTON, Va. — The National Guard will not expect states to hold new recruits to their contracts if Congress won’t authorize promised bonuses, Army National Guard Director Lt. Gen. Clyde Vaughn said Thursday.

“This is a matter of trust,” Vaughn told reporters during a Pentagon briefing on the Guard’s new Active First recruiting program.

“There’s no adjutant general that’s going to hold (our recruits) responsible for something that we told them that didn’t happen,” Vaughn said. “You can take that any way you like. (The adjutant generals) have got a lot of flexibility to turn around and let them go if they have to renege on a promise.”

Active First targets recruits who would like to do a stint on active duty and then transfer to the National Guard. Participants can receive bonuses of up to $40,000 specifically for signing up for this program, depending on the length of their commitment.

Army Secretary Pete Geren set a goal of 1,600 new recruits to enlist in the program during its first year, fiscal 2008, Vaughn said.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=51562