Here's how you know
 **Official websites use .mil** .mil
 **Secure .mil websites use HTTPS** lock () https://


Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 Toggle navigation
            
            
            
            
            National Guard
                        Always Ready Always There
                    National Guard
            
            Search National Guard:
                        Search
                    Search
                        Search National Guard:
                            Search
    Home

    News
    
        Guard News

    Overseas Operations

    State Partnership Program

    News Features

    RSS Feeds

    Press Releases

    Transcripts

    Features
    
        Features by Year

    Posture Statement

    State Partnership Program

    Special Features

    About the Guard
    
        How We Began

    Air National Guard

    Army National Guard    
    
        DEERS Soldier Journey

    Leader Development Program

    History and Heritage

    I am the Guard

    NGB Official March

    Leadership
    
        CNGB

    VCNGB

    SEA

    DANG

    DARNG

    Joint Staff    
    
        J-1

    J-2

    J-3

    J-4

    J-5

    J-6

    J-7

    J-8

    Personal Staff    
    
        Inspector General

    General Counsel    
    
        Special Victims Counsel

    Public Affairs

    Executive Support Services

    Legislative Liaison

    Special Staff    
    
        Office of the Provost Marshal

    Office of the Joint Surgeon

    Director of Acquisitions

    Small Business Programs

    Chaplain

    Senior Leader Management Office

    Diversity Equity Inclusion

    Comptroller

    Resources    
        National Defense Strategy Implementation Guidance

    Community Engagement

    FOIA

    Fact Sheets

    Helpful Links

    Image Gallery
    
        News Images

    Graphics

    Historical Paintings

    Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    Legislative Liaison

    Small Business Programs

    Social Media

    State Websites

    Videos    
    
        Featured Videos

    On Every Front

    2019 Videos

    2020 Videos

    2021 Videos

    Suicide Prevention

    Family Programs

    Environmental

    Trial Defense Service

    Holistic Wellness Challenge

    Contact Us  Home
  News
  Article View
 
 Download
 Details
 Share
 NEWS
 Army Guard Conference Highlights Recruiting Tips, Challenges By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy,
                National Guard Bureau
 NEW ORLEANS – Seven Soldiers stood on stage at the award ceremony, waiting to hear who had taken top honors. A drum roll built suspense in the darkened room as audience members shifted in their seats. The drumming reached a crescendo as Master Sgt. Christopher Sehy was named the winner to cheers and applause. As he stepped across the stage, he was unexpectedly met by his wife, Crystal, who had rushed onstage to hug and congratulate her husband for being the Army National Guard’s Recruiting and Retention Noncommissioned Officer of the Year. “I was a bit surprised when they called my name,” said Sehy, a recruiter with the Utah Army National Guard. “It’s a very humbling honor and it means a lot.” The March 23 awards program was the culminating event of the annual Director of the Army National Guard’s Strength Maintenance Awards and Conference, where recruiting team chiefs and top Army Guard recruiters network, exchange ideas and focus on ever-evolving recruiting challenges.
  
“This is an opportunity to bring in the top recruiters and section leaders or section chiefs into one forum,” said Master Sgt. Anthony Vaughn, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the conference and the Recruit Sustainment Program NCOIC in the Army Guard Strength Maintenance Division at the National Guard Bureau. “Then you also have training that’s going to be disseminated out to the field.” As the Army Guard rebounds from a year of lower enlistment rates, the conference focused on synchronizing efforts, said Vaughn. “Right now, we’re in one of the most difficult recruiting environments we’ve been in in a very long time,” he said of all the service branches and components. “We’re trying to figure out ways to increase accessions through recruiting.” The crosstalk and training help, enabling recruiters in one state to talk with and bounce ideas off those in other states.
  
“Recruiting, it does vary based upon that local environment,” said Vaughn. “All in all, it’s a science and an art. So, recruiters in all the states can come in and kind of deliver their pieces of the pie, if you will.” The conference allowed recruiters to “hear those best practices and think about things outside the box that they possibly aren’t doing in their particular state” that they can adapt to fit their mission. “The intent is that they take all the knowledge that they’ll learn and disseminate that back out [to other recruiters at home station],” said Vaughn. “They can say, ‘This is something that I learned, and this can help posture us for future success.’” He said drawing on those ideas and applying them while mentoring others in their command makes for a good recruiter, or — as they are officially known — a recruiting and retention noncommissioned officer. “A good recruiter, that’s someone who is not going to forget the second half of the title — NCO,” he said. “They’re the ones that do not forget when they were that applicant going to see their recruiter and the process they may have gone through,” said Vaughn. “They’re the ones who follow up and are always ready to answer any follow-on questions, even long after that individual went from being a prospect to an applicant, to being at basic training and then back into a unit as a Soldier.” Sehy agreed. “The biggest thing is, it just starts with doing the work,” he said. “Every day, you’ve got to come to work and be present and engaged.” It’s hard but rewarding work, Sehy said.
 
“The best part about being a recruiter is you have an opportunity to change the course of someone’s life,” he said. “My little brother, he’s done 10 years in prison,” he said. “We grew up in the same place; we just took different paths. And for me, every time I talk with a young man or young woman, I don’t take that for granted. Because I look at what it’s done for my life.” The conference helps recruiters work with recruits and applicants seeking to make the “life-changing” decision to enlist. “We take a needs analysis of the field, as far as what we need to hone in on,” said Vaughn of the conference planning. In addition to recruiters, that analysis includes input from the Army Guard Strength Maintenance Division and broader Army recruiting efforts.
 
“Those topics change from year to year,” said Vaughn. “But again, they’re based upon the needs of the field. So that’s where here, as a division, we make sure that we meet that need.” The intent is to increase the abilities of recruiting teams in the 54 — all 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia, said Vaughn. Recruiting often comes down to making connections within the recruiting career field and with potential recruits, Sehy said. That can sometimes mean calling a lot of possible applicants. “One of my mottos is 20 minutes of cold calls a day keeps the sergeant major away,” he said, referring to the senior NCO overseeing recruiting teams. “If you’re willing to put in just 20 minutes a day, you’ll be able to get something out of it at some point.” But rejection can be tough, said Sehy. “You’ve got to have that personal courage to continue to make those calls, to go to that school or community event to meet people who may be interested.” But seeing the changes in those he’s enlisted makes it worth it. “They leave for training looking a certain way,” he said. “Then to see them come back, they’re usually skinnier, in better physical condition and they’re more confident,” he said. “It’s really rewarding when you get a thank you. Sometimes it’s from someone that you didn’t really know appreciated you at all. That means the world and makes another 400 cold calls worth it.”
 SHARE
 PRINT
  Utah National Guard
 recruiting
 Army
 National Guard Bureau
 
 National Guard Athletes Finish Strong at Lincoln Marathon
 By Spc. Lauren Behn,
  Alaska Guard Black Hawk Aviators Train at Marine Corps Course
 By Alaska National Guard
  Washington Guard Team Takes Honors at Biathlon Championship
 By Joseph Siemandel,
  More
 New York National Guard Headquarters Staff Marks Memorial Day Guard News • 14 hours ago
 Tennessee Guard, Local Partners Practice Disaster Response Guard News • 14 hours ago
 Air Guard Units Test Readiness at Sentry Savannah Exercise Guard News • yesterday
 Tennessee National Guard Rescues Hiker in Smoky Mountains Guard News • yesterday
 10th Homeland Response Force Conducts Collective Training Guard News • 2 days ago
 2024 (158)  2023 (427)  2022 (526)  2021 (697)  2020 (936)  2019 (387)  2018 (323)  2017 (346)  2016 (245)  2015 (356)  2014 (399)  2013 (469)  2012 (556)  2011 (533)  2010 (1071)  2009 (357)  2008 (638)  2007 (295)  2006 (188)
 Home
 Site Map
 Privacy & Security Policy
 Link Disclaimer
 Web Policy
 DOD Information Quality
 DOD Open GovernmentFOIA
 No FEAR Act
 Accessibility/Section 508
 Contact Us
 Army Guard Careers
 Air Guard Careers
 USA.gov
                    
Staying Connected
    XYouTubeFlickrFacebookInstagram
                 
                
                

Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil