National Guard Illegally Incentivizes Soldiers to Participate in Recruiting Assistance Program

Soldiers participating in the Guard Recruiting Assistance Program were illegally incentivized by the National Guard for their participation in the Guard Recruiting Assistance Program in a number of different ways to include awards, paid days off and gifts purchased by the National Guard.

According to the Department of Defense’s guidelines “The government may award government personnel using a variety of methods, ranging from certificates of appreciation to time off and a monetary bonus. The government does not have the same authority to recognize contractor employees.”

It is important to note that the soldiers were working as contactor employees and as such, they were not entitled to awards by the US government. However, as shown below, many soldiers such as SGT Dana Kline, received military medals for their involvement acting as contractors for the Guard Recruiting Assistance Program.

In another instance the Oregon National Guard (ORARNG) offered the Red Leg Challenge where they offered to give soldiers paid days off for successfully recruiting individuals into the National Guard. As shown below, the ORARNG provided soldiers with paid days off for their actions conducted as a government contractor. Not only is this a form of a gift but the National Guard cannot pay a solider as a soldier for something they do as a contractor. Further, the soldiers were incentivized with gifts in the form of a backpack which also violated DoD guidelines. Again, the National Guard illegally incentivized soldiers to participate in the G-RAP program.

While the National Guard illegally incentivized soldiers to participate in the G-RAP program, no leadership has been questions or held accountable for their actions or for implementing an illegal program. Instead, the soldiers who participated in the program and being criminally prosecuted for a set of rules and guidelines that was inherently misleading.