{"id":25041,"date":"2020-06-10T19:42:46","date_gmt":"2020-06-10T19:42:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/06\/10\/extended-covid-response-hurting-air-national-guard-retention\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:40:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:40:57","slug":"extended-covid-response-hurting-air-national-guard-retention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2020\/06\/10\/extended-covid-response-hurting-air-national-guard-retention\/","title":{"rendered":"Extended COVID response hurting Air National Guard retention"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Air National Guard\u2019s lengthening response to the coronavirus crisis<\/a> is hurting its retention efforts, and could cause it to drop about 1,000 air guardsmen below its authorized levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ANG was expected to have an end strength of about 107,700 airmen in fiscal 2020, according to the Air Force\u2019s budget documents. But in an online forum hosted by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies on Wednesday, Air National Guard director Lt. Gen. Scott Rice said a recruiting briefing he received that morning said retention issues will cause it to fall roughly 1,000 short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had a change of dynamic<\/a> that I hadn\u2019t seen before, that we\u2019re digging into and finding out what it means,\u201d Rice said. \u201cOur recruiting is actually increasing slightly. Our retention has changed for the first time in probably 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A key factor stressing air guardsmen is the ongoing pandemic<\/a>. Some guardsmen got month-long orders in March and April, Rice said, which then got extended through May, and then June \u2014 and could perhaps be extended through August.<\/p>\n\n\n\t