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ARNG Recruit Sustainment Program

The Army National Guard Recruit Sustainment Program was established in fiscal year 2004 to reduce training pipeline losses and formalize the process of preparing new recruits for Initial Entry Training. Training pipeline losses had increased to nearly 30% of the 33,000 recruits entering the training pipeline. Recruiting and Retention Commanders would take on the RSP as an extension of their mission: recruiting, retention, and attrition management. And for the first time, all traditional unit functions would be supported entirely by RR leadership and support staff.

The RSP would grow to 35,000 warriors by the end of fiscal year 2006. This called for a contractor component to provide administrative and logistical support, allowing RSP Cadre to focus on training Warriors. By November 2006, Military Personnel Services Corporation would partner with Career Training Concepts to establish a force of 260 contractors that would provide this essential support in 51 of the 54 states and territories.

Today, the Recruit Sustainment Program has the strength of 42,000 Warriors. This rapid growth and the superior performance by RSP contractors, led to an expansion of the contract in December 2007. This expansion increased manpower to 381 contractors in 52 of the 54 states and territories, and key assignments at the regional and national levels.

Commanders would once again team with MPSC and CTC to attract quality contractors to the Recruit Sustainment Program. The bulk would be assigned at the state level to extend our reach with administration and logistics. The expansion also produced three additional contractor positions. They include Training Managers, Direct Ship Specialists, and Shipper Quality Control Specialists authorized to select states across the nation.

The RSP Contract expansion called for a first of its kind management team, as well as a quality control team with oversight at the state, regional, and national level. Four Regional Managers were selected to oversee the expanded contractor mission and to serve as RSP Consultants to the commanders in their region, working with them on the ground and via web-based platforms. In just four months, there is already a marked improvement in RSP standardization and the employment of tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs). Three other managers were hired to oversee the Training Management, Direct Ship, and Quality Control aspects of the RSP, essentially functioning as Special Staff Officers to the NGB-ASM-RSP Branch Chief. The collective structure was put in place to afford adequate levels of support to a developing RSP.

Another vital component of the expansion is the RSP Quality Control Team. This QC team was strategically intertwined throughout the RSP to analyze performance and increase awareness on key aspects of the RSP. The QC team has thrived in its first mission to improve Shipper Quality Control. Since January 2008, Shipper QC has improved well ahead of established benchmarks. Our QC effort will soon expand to include RSP Attrition Management.

We are pleased with the progressive development of the RSP Contract. Since the inception of the contract in November 2006, all measures of RSP performance have improved, allowing the ARNG RSP to lead all services in the preparations of new recruits. The foundation for our success is our people, our contractor team. Some are traditional members of the Army National Guard, some are prior service members, some have never served in uniform, and the majority are AGR retirees. In all cases our contractor team embodies the skills, abilities, and experience to provide superior support on behalf of the Recruit Sustainment Program and a commitment to “Make Ready the Warrior.”

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