National Guard & Army Reserve soldiers now make up nearly 40% of the 148,000 troops in Iraq.

Yesterday the Army National Guard announced that it had fallen 30% below its recruiting goals in the last two months. The main reason for the Army National Guard's recruiting shortfall is a sharp reduction in the number of recruits joining the Guard and Reserve when they leave active duty.

In peacetime the commitment means maintaining their ties to the military with a weekend of service a month and two weeks in the summer.

Over the last 30 years, the Guard has counted on these soldiers with prior military service for about half of its recruits. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, however, many of these soldiers have been hesitant to join the Guard because of the increasing likelihood that America's citizen-soldiers will be activated and sent to Iraq or Afghanistan for up to 12 months.

(12-17-04 The New York Times.)