Air Guard starts funding recruitment storefronts

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. John Orrell
  • National Guard Bureau
WASHINGTON (AFNS) --  The Air National Guard's storefront recruiting facilities program got a boost this year when they received funding from the National Guard Bureau for the first time.

The program has received some funding in the past, but it was out of executioner funds, which came from leftover annually-budgeted ANG recruiting dollars, said Senior Master Sgt. Greg Renz, the ANG's recruiting operations superintendent

"Traditionally, as an Air Guard unit, if the unit itself had a storefront, they had to go and procure the storefront on their own," he said.

Before the program became officially funded, if a unit sets up a storefront, and the money hadn't come from NGB, then the unit would have to take it out of their budget.

"This allows all (wings) to have a storefront, and (NGB will) pay for it," he said. "The funding will pay for the leases and the expenses associated with having a storefront."

Sergeant Renz said the storefront program is an important step for building relationships within the communities and the other service branches.

"It allows recruiters to get closer with their local community," he said. "We can expand our footprint across America and maybe recruit from some communities (where) we haven't been before."

Adding storefronts close to active-duty recruiters will embrace the total-force concept and work with each other to recruit for what they need, he said.

The storefront program also has an aesthetic and practical advantage, Sergeant Renz said.

"If you walk into a storefront in Illinois, it should be the same as if you walk into a storefront in Washington," he said. "Wherever you go, it should have the same look and feel."

Each storefront will have a specialized look and feel directly related to whatever mission each unit is recruiting, he added.

"If you have a unit that has F-22 (Raptors), when you go to that particular storefront you will see pictures and specialized information about that mission," he said. "That's makes it easier for a recruiter to show what (individual wings) do."

Sergeant Renz said that commanders interested in starting a storefront in their local area should contact their recruiting and retention superintendents for information.