CHARLESTON, W.Va. –
The West Virginia Army National Guard (WVARNG) is second overall nationwide in the Army National Guard Best Recruiting and Retention Competition for Fiscal Year 2022 and first in the small state category, according to numbers released Oct. 26, 2022.
The ranking is formulated from enlisted and officer accessions (new recruits), retention (extension and reenlistment of current Soldiers), and attrition (Soldiers who have separated or retired). New York was first at 96 percent for strength, maintenance and management, and West Virginia was next at 90.2 percent.
This success doesn’t mean the WVARNG gets to step back and slow down, however.
“The West Virginia Army National Guard’s accomplishment in finishing the year as strong as we did can be attributed to our dedicated leaders across all ranks who truly focused on initiatives to work with Soldiers to recruit and retain the best talent in our state,” said Maj. Gen. Bill Crane, Adjutant General of West Virginia. “It is no doubt a challenging time for recruiting and retention in the armed forces, but the propensity to serve is something we are very proud of in West Virginia, a state with a history of service to our great nation, and we know we can continue to contribute to our nation’s defense through growing and retaining Soldiers in the West Virginia National Guard.”
Across all branches, the military is currently facing the most arduous recruiting environment in more than 20 years. For Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22), the Army National Guard is currently at 98.1 percent of its end strength, 6,000 short of its 336,000 authorized strength.
West Virginia did not fall far off, however. The WVARNG met 99.6 percent end strength for FY22 with 3,988 of 4,004 authorized and reached 110 percent of required retention.
It’s this success that has led to NGB growing the WVARNG to an authorized strength of 4032 in fiscal year 2022, said Lt. Col. Jake Watson, WVARNG Recruiting and Retention Battalion commander.
“NGB is asking us to grow because we've been able to maintain our strength, whereas some states have not,” he said. “This growth can lead to another stretch of time when they don’t meet their mission as the finish line is moved, but in the long run it shows the trust and faith NGB and the Army National Guard has in West Virginia and our team of leaders who place emphasis on service to one’s community, state and nation.”
The WVARNG is consistently called upon in the defense and support of our states and nation, whether through pandemic response, civil disturbance missions, disaster response, or contingency deployments.
In FY22, Soldiers were called upon for flood rescue in Kentucky, flood response and clean-up in West Virginia, and numerous domestic support missions in Washington, D.C. Soldiers conducted training through the State Partnership Program in Peru and Qatar, with U.S. Army Europe and Africa in Georgia, and with NATO allies globally. Soldiers established cyber training programs in partnership with state universities and the Mountaineer ChalleNEe Academy and extended cyber security training to Peru and U.S. Southern Command. On State Active Duty, Soldiers are currently providing support for both COVID response and support to the West Virginia Dept. of Corrections.
This is in addition to maintaining a robust mandatory training schedule that included the implementation of the Army Combat Fitness Test and a state-wide M4 rifle weapons fielding and qualification on the new rifle standards.