[3/4/04]With many members deployed, Mississippi Army National Guard recruiters are looking for new ways to reach new prospects for enlistment.

“We don’t have the leads,” said Col. Henry Bernreuter, director of recruiting and retention for the state Guard, explaining that people in the Guard provide the best tips for new enlistments.

The Guard’s 168th Engineer Group, based in Vicksburg, departed here about a year and two weeks ago and has been deployed to the Middle East. Members of the group are expected to return in about two to four months, he said.

That absence, and the fact that the guard has been given a September target strength of about 100 more members, means the organization has had to “shift the way we do business,” said Sfc. Mark Weilenman, the state Guard’s marketing director.

Last September’s count was about 9,750, and this year’s target is about 9,850, he said. The current count is about 9,900, he said.

“We try to average about 140 a month,” Bernreuter said of the Guard’s statewide recruiting, adding that at that rate the Guard replenishes its ranks.

January’s enlistees numbered 126, or 14 shy of the target average, he said. February’s total, though, was 164, exceeding the average by 24.

The Guard has run display advertisements in the help-wanted sections of daily newspapers around the state, including The Vicksburg Post, he said. The ads are part of an ongoing national campaign, he said.

November and January are typically slow months for recruiting, Bernreuter said.

“We had a slow December, but it’s picking up,” Weilenman said of the Guard’s recruiting numbers. “We’re doing better than a lot of states right now.”

Bernreuter said the nation is about 4,000 people short, but that “Mississippi is holding its own.”

The cutoff age for people who have never served in the military to join is 35, Bernreuter said.

“If they’ve been in before, then that number goes up,” he added. “We can put people in through their 50s. We’d like for them to be eligible to get 20 years’ service.”

The Guard requires a commitment of two weeks a year and one weekend a month. Initial training can last eight to 22 weeks, depending on the job, Bernreuter said.

This year’s higher target for Mississippi is “in part because Mississippi has had such great recruiting years the last three years,” he said. The guard’s statewide total has grown to its current 9,900 from 9,265 in 2000, a jump of 735, he said.

“We’ve had, since 9-11, quite a few patriots come up,” he said, adding that a lot of young people are showing interest in joining the Guard.

“People are wanting to get in special kinds of units,” he said, adding that he receives calls every day from young people specifying the unit they would like to join.

The Guard recruits separately from the regular U.S. Army.

People who want to join the Guard may call 1 (800) GO GUARD, visit www.1800goguard.com on the Internet or go by the National Guard Armory off Interstate 20 at the Flowers exit, Bernreuter said.