By SUZANNE DOWNING
The Air National Guard recorded its best recruiting year on record in fiscal year 2025, bringing in nearly 12,000 new members as the service overhauled how it recruits, trains, and supports its force.
The surge in enlistments coincided with a restructuring and modernizing of recruiting operations, especially by reducing administrative burdens on recruiters. Leaders say the changes are designed to strengthen the Air Guard’s core mission as the combat-ready reserve of the U.S. Air Force.
“It all comes down to wartime readiness,” said US Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Joshua D. Moore, command chief of the Air National Guard. “As the combat-ready reserve of the Air Force, we must recruit and retain the best Airmen.” Moore visited Alaska in May to lead the Air National Guard’s Wing Leader Fly-In, and to work on strategic planning at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
Alaska Air Guard deploys to Guam for first-of-its-kind contested communications exercise
At the center of the effort is a new Recruiting Command Structure, now fully implemented across all 54 states and territories and 90 Air National Guard wings. Chief Master Sgt. Michael D. Brooks, senior enlisted leader for National Guard Bureau Recruiting and Retention, said the model shifts administrative, marketing, and medical processing responsibilities away from frontline recruiters.
The goal, Brooks said, is to allow recruiters to concentrate on identifying and engaging qualified candidates rather than navigating paperwork and logistical hurdles. Supporting agencies now handle much of the back-end work that once slowed the process.
By streamlining application timelines, reallocating resources more flexibly, and reducing non-recruiting tasks, Air Guard leaders say the service has become more agile in meeting recruiting demands in a competitive environment.
“Our aim is to be more effective in attracting and retaining top talent,” Brooks said.
Organizational changes extended beyond staffing. The Air Guard realigned its recruiting function so it now reports directly to the Office of the Director of the Air National Guard, rather than through a personnel directorate. Brooks said the move provides greater maneuverability to respond quickly to changing recruiting conditions.
Moore described the shift as a way to elevate recruiting as a mission priority and ensure better communication with senior leadership.
The Air Guard has also professionalized the recruiter role by creating a dedicated Air Force Specialty Code for recruiters, known as talent acquisitions specialists. Implemented last fiscal year, the change established a defined career path, replacing the previous model in which recruiting was often a temporary assignment that could stall career progression.
Air Guard recruiting success received national attention at the Pentagon during the inaugural Recruitment Excellence Forum on Dec. 18, where Secretary of War Pete Hegseth recognized top recruiters from across the military services.
At the forum, Hegseth praised recruiters across the services for achieving record results and said the department is working to remove barriers that make their jobs more difficult, including through the creation of a Military Service Recruitment Task Force earlier this year.
“You find the great Americans who want to serve, and you’ve signed them up in record numbers,” Hegseth said, telling recruiters they have set the standard heading into the next year.
Air Guard leaders say the combination of structural reform, professionalized recruiting roles, and leadership focus has positioned the service to sustain momentum as it looks to meet future manpower and readiness needs.
