LOCAL PAPER STORY

The Tucson Daily Star doesn't often have its own reporters cover national stories but I guess this one was too interesting to pass up:

Reserve, Guard drawing few over 35
By Carol Ann Alaimo
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Published: 08.20.2005

http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/news/89511.php


Arizonans over 35 have not been flocking to join the Army Reserve or the Army National Guard since the Pentagon upped the age limit in March. Nine state residents ages 35 to 39 - three of them from the Tucson area - have enlisted since the change took effect, according to Guard and reserve officials.

Nationwide, 513 new citizen soldiers who would not have been eligible under the old age rule have signed up.

Response from the over-35 set has not been enough to reverse the recruiting slump the Army Guard and Reserve have been in for months as the Iraq campaign drags on with no clear end in sight.

Both Army entities missed their national recruiting goals again in July.

The Guard was about 1,200 shy of the 5,920 it hoped to sign last month, while the Reserve was 454 short of its goal of 2,585 new soldiers. National Guard spokesman Harrison said the media put too much emphasis on negative recruiting numbers, and not enough on a more positive trend: the number of current citizen soldiers deciding to stay in the service.

Contrary to what many war critics predicted, retention of existing Guard members is higher than expected, he said. By this point in the year, the Guard had hoped to retain 26,434 soldiers. The number signing up after their enlistments ended was 27,664, he said.