03/22/2009

By SCOTT FONTAINE  / Associated Press

Spc. George Graham spends most nights driving the dangerous streets of northern Iraq, riding in an armored vehicle as his 81st Brigade Combat Team unit escorts supply trucks between military bases.

The Tacoma native knew a deployment to Iraq was likely when he joined the Washington National Guard last June to help pay for tuition at Clover Park Technical College, where he studies landscape management.

Graham plans to leave the Guard when he returns home this summer but not because he wants to get out the military.

The 27-year-old father, now serving in Mosul, plans to switch to active-duty status with the Army, driven in part by the promise of financial security for his two sons and himself.

"It's a stable living," said Graham, who grew up on Tacoma's Hilltop. "And the Army is a better life than where I came from."

As the nation's economic woes drag on, more local guardsmen are choosing to continue military service by re-enlisting, extending their stay in Iraq or transferring to active-duty status.

The reasons for continuing service are varied and often complex; incentives range from tax-free bonuses to sure-fire promotions, from camaraderie to patriotism. But a reliable paycheck during an economic recession is an increasingly important factor, according to guardsmen whose job is to retain soldiers.

Sgt. 1st Class Jerry Frazier is a 42-year-old Fircrest resident serving as the brigade's noncommissioned officer in charge of retention. He has processed paperwork for more than 375 soldiers during the Iraq deployment more than 10 percent of the brigade's total personnel.

While comparative numbers from past years weren't available, Frazier said the current number of 81st re-enlistments is very high.

In fact, the brigade comprises nearly 90 percent of the total re-enlistments in the entire Washington National Guard. There have been 427 re-enlistments in the Guard so far in the 2009 fiscal year, said spokesman Lt. Keith Kosik.

Many who aren't re-enlisting still want to stay in the service. They approach Frazier, who normally works as a National Guard recruiter in Lakewood, for tips on landing a full-time job with the Guard or as a military trainer, working with other units heading to Iraq or Afghanistan.

"When we first deployed (last fall), a lot of them didn't want to re-enlist," he said. "They'd tell me, 'Oh, Sergeant Frazier, don't come talk to me about that. Don't even bring it up. I'm done with the Guard after this.'

"But a few months later, a lot of those same guys came back up to me and said they were worried about the economy, about paying the bills. They catch me going to my hooch, to chow, to the gym. They tell me they're looking for more work because there's not much back home."

Re-enlistment was always the plan for Sgt. 1st Class Mickey Kearney. The 35-year-old Olympia resident works full time in personnel for the Washington National Guard and needs to stay in uniform to keep his job.

But Kearney, who serves as a personnel sergeant with brigade headquarters in Ramadi, signed up for another six years instead of a shorter contract. (Soldiers can re-enlist for terms as short as one year and as long as six.)

It was an easy decision and one that made him $15,000 richer.

"I did it now for the cash bonus. That's the straight-up reason," he said. "I was going to re-enlist anyway, and I'll stay as long as they let me stay."

As sweeteners to keep soldiers, the 81st Brigade has paid more than $5.3 million in cash bonuses, extra money added to the GI Bill and student loan repayments.

Re-enlisting overseas offers a major benefit: The bonuses, like the soldiers' salary, aren't subject to income tax. The federal government typically taxes up to one-third of the lump sum.

"The surge in re-enlistments is a direct reflection of the economy," said Staff Sgt. Chris Herring of Silverdale, who's helped 24 soldiers in the 81st Brigade Special Troops Battalion re-enlist since the deployment began. "More people want to join or stay in for the promise of steady pay."

The incentive diminished March 1, when the bonus on a six-year contract dropped from $15,000 to $10,000. The three-year bonus dropped from $7,500 to $5,000.

The reduction came from the National Guard Bureau because the quota for re-enlistment has been met.

Most soldiers, however, point to the sense of patriotism and camaraderie that accompanies military service as their primary reason for re-upping.

Spc. Cathay Roleau, a medic with the 181st Brigade Support Battalion, signed up in January for another six years. The daughter of a National Guard recruiter, she joined at 17 and said she would have re-enlisted regardless of what the brigade's retention staff offered.

"The bonuses help, but I'd do it anyway," said Roleau, a 22-year-old Renton resident who previously deployed to Afghanistan in 2006-07 with the Oregon National Guard. "I'm a lifer."

Sgt. Rick Scidmore's decision to re-enlist in January was simple.

"I did it so I could get a promotion," the Tacoma resident said.

Promotions are often based on experience, time served and time remaining in the soldier's contract. By extending the latter category, Scidmore qualified to become a staff sergeant.

The 48-year-old journeyman floor coverer — who serves as the armorer for Bravo Troop, 1st Squadron, 303rd Cavalry Regiment in Baghdad — is on his third deployment with the Washington National Guard. He served in Iraq with the 81st Brigade in 2004-05 and with the 66th Theater Aviation Command in 2007-08.

Scidmore, who's trained as a cavalry scout and an aircraft refueler, plans on serving with the aviation unit in Afghanistan next year.

"I planned to keep on serving," he said after taking the oath at his troop's operations center in Baghdad's International Zone. "And I figured I should re-up sooner instead of later to get that promotion."

The numbers of soldiers re-enlisting would likely be even higher, Herring said, if he could guarantee they'd stay stateside for the next six years. Many members of the 81st are on their second yearlong tour of Iraq since 2004.

The war is winding down, and President Barack Obama has pledged to withdraw nearly all troops from Iraq by September 2010, but guardsmen might still get deployed to Afghanistan or some other hot spot.

"People ask if I can promise they won't be deployed if they reenlist," Herring said. "I tell them, 'No, no, no. Can't do that.'"

Capt. Forrest Horan left the Army in August 2007 after 12 years on active duty.

The 37-year-old Seattle resident wanted a change in his life; he'd served with Special Forces at Fort Lewis with the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment and later deployed to Iraq with the 3rd Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. He left to teach ROTC at Seattle University.

He wanted to keep the military in his life, so he joined the Washington National Guard several months after leaving active duty. The 81st Brigade's mobilization alert came weeks later; he's serving as headquarters company commander for the Special Troops Battalion.

When he returns, he plans to rejoin the Army on active-duty status. He misses the lifestyle, he said, but the promise of a steady paycheck also swayed him.

"There's an absolute assurance that you'll get paid on active duty," he said, adding that the salary he'd receive as a captain makes for "a pretty good living."

The Guard, by comparison, is not a steady paycheck, Herring said.

"There will be a lot fewer temporary hires when we return," he said. "People are asking me all the time if they should go active duty."

For Sgt. Joanna Brown of Oak Harbor, the economy and a better future for her son also helped convince her to go active. She enlisted in 2001 but left six years later to enroll in college and raise her son, Trey.

She joined the National Guard in October 2007 as a vehicle supply clerk. She has plans to retrain as a dental technician, a mobility specialist or a criminal investigator when she returns to active duty — hoping she'll be stationed in Germany, Japan or Hawaii.

"It's hard to balance work, bills, day care and all that as a single parent," Brown said. "Active-duty offers steady financials that will help me raise my son."

Sgt. Rob Hiebert, on the other hand, hopes another stint on active duty will help him in his civilian career. He serves in Mosul as the operations noncommissioned officer in charge for Bravo Battery, 2nd Battalion, 146th Field Artillery Regiment.

But he's trained as a mortuary affairs specialist and works at a funeral home in Spokane.

"Money's tight everywhere these days, even the funeral business," the 41-year-old said.

Because of economic and societal changes, people just don't pay for large, lavish funerals, he added.

He hopes to serve abroad and study other cultures' death traditions.

"I can take what I learn in other countries and apply it in my civilian life," he said. "You can read about it, but if you live it, it helps you so much more."

Spc. Dennis Jolley and Spc. Jeremy Schaeffer grew up together in Battle Ground, Clark County, and joined the National Guard at the same time.

The 23-year-olds also will extend their deployments in Iraq together for at least three months, possibly longer. They'll likely serve with the unit replacing the 81st.

"The money was part of it," said Jolley, who said he gets paid $500 extra per month of his extension. "But I would do it anyway. And I like it over here. It's a lot better than a lot of other places."

Extending is becoming an attractive option as Active Duty for Operational Support orders disappear. The full-time jobs, known by their acronym ADOS, allow a mobilizing unit to beef up its personnel to prepare for a deployment, but many of the positions disappear after the unit goes home.

About 250 soldiers from the 81st were on ADOS orders for all or most of the 2008 fiscal year. But the brigade started adding positions before deployment, and about 800 soldiers were on ADOS at some point during the year, according to Guard spokesman Kosik.

More than 90 percent of ADOS jobs will disappear when the 81st Brigade returns from its deployment, Kosik said.

Both Jolley and Schaeffer, who run convoy security missions with the 2nd Battalion, 146th Field Artillery Regiment in Mosul, said they'd consider staying longer than three extra months in Iraq, depending on opportunities back home and in the Guard.

Jolley wants to go to warrant officer school and become a helicopter pilot. Schaeffer has plans to attend college; the longer he spends in Iraq, the better the benefits from the latest version of the GI Bill.

"It's something I feel like I need to do at this time in my life," Schaeffer said. "I want to do it personally, but right now, serving in Iraq just provides a sense of stability."

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Information from: The News Tribune, http://www.thenewstribune.com