ATLANTA — The Georgia National Guard is seeing recruitment numbers continue to trend upward even amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Major General Konata Crumbly, commander of the Georgia Air National Guard, says both the Air and Army National Guard in Georgia are seeing strong recruitment.
“This is going to be the best year of recruiting in possibly the last 20 years,” Crumbly said.
Crumbly says the Georgia Air National Guard is on pace for another record year of recruiting, along with the Georgia Army National Guard.
He believes younger generations recognize the different ways they can serve through the Guard, both overseas and at home.
“For a lot of us there’s nothing better than serving something higher than yourself and not only serving overseas, but here in Georgia,” Crumbly said.
The Georgia National Guard currently has service members in five of the six global combatant commands. Guard members have also served within the state this year, responding during winter ice storms and wildfires in South Georgia.
“It doesn’t just mean fighting and winning your nation’s wars, but it also means helping citizens of Georgia in their time of need,” Crumbly said.
Crumbly says those who join the National Guard are committed to serving.
“We are all volunteers and that should tell you more so than anything else that we want to be here, we want to serve, we want to support our country and the policy of our country,” Crumbly said.
The Georgia National Guard has an estimated 14,000 members. Nationally, there are about 430,000 National Guard members.
WSB Radio’s Jonathan O’Brien contributed to this story.