Photo By Staff Sgt. Zandra Duran | Nevada Army Guard Recruiting and Retention Battalion Soldiers salute during a recent...... read more read more
By Sgt. 1st Class Rob Diehl
Nevada Army Guard
CARSON CITY – Midway through Fiscal Year 2025, statistics reveal a robust number of Nevada Army Guard Soldiers are choosing to remain “Battle Born” and extending past their Expiration Term of Service.
The high percentage of reenlistments is resulting in excellent retention numbers for the Nevada Army Guard’s Recruiting and Retention Battalion. With just a few months remaining in Fiscal Year 2025, the Recruiting and Retention Battalion staff ranks No. 2 in Region 7 (Southwest United States) in terms of the percentage of extensions signed by Soldiers approaching their ETS.
As of May 4, the Recruiting and Retention team had extended 237 Soldiers with existing contracts out of the approximately 3,300 Soldiers in the Nevada Army Guard. They are right on pace to meet their FY 2025 goal of 420 Soldiers. That goal is based on the fact about 700 Soldiers in the Nevada Army Guard are in their Reenlistment Opportunity Window (the 365 days in advance of a Soldier’s Expiration Term of Service) this year. The goal number is established by the National Guard Bureau.
This year, Sgt. 1st Class Garry Willis is overseeing the retention campaign.
Willis’ staff includes Sgt. Diana Ramirez and Sgt. 1st Class Justin Nacua, who work with Soldiers in southern Nevada who are in their Reenlistment Opportunity Window. It’s a demanding task for Nacua and Ramirez, who face serious challenges in retaining qualified Soldiers due to competition from attractive tourism- and hospitality-field jobs in Las Vegas.
Nacua has been in the Recruiting Battalion for more than a decade and has served in multiple leadership roles and brings a wealth of sales experience to the team: It’s a valuable skill when teaching fellow career counselors how to communicate effectively with Soldiers in their ROW.
“I just want to ensure that Soldiers are being taken care of and stay in the Guard if it fits in their future plans,” Nacua said.
In northern Nevada, Sgt. Daniel Gourlay works with Army Guard units to provide information on the latest National Guard benefits and perks of continued service.
Willis said timeliness is a key factor in a successful extension.
“Our current challenges include ensuring a Soldier’s paperwork and qualifications are up to date so they are eligible to extend their current contract,” Willis said. “Units should be communicating and fixing paperwork for Soldiers 90 days or sooner before their contract is set to end in order to fix any issues and give the Soldier time to discuss their decision with family.”
Willis said organic battalion career counselors are contributing significantly to Nevada’s impressive retention statistics.
“The units’ use of battalion career counselors has increased dramatically this year resulting in personal conversations between Soldiers and counselors in the same unit. Soldiers are recognizing one of their peers is interested and invested in their future versus an ‘outsider’ coming into the unit to conduct a retention interview,” Willis said.
Many of the smaller Nevada Army Guard units have already met their 2025 retention missions. At the battalion level, First Squadron, 221st Cavalry ranks No. 1 in terms of progress on its retention mission due in large part to the Herculean effort of Sgt. Jocelyne Villafane-Tiffer, the battalion career counselor. She is one of the state’s many BCCs prioritizing Soldier care concurrently with retention-mission success.
Similar to the Nevada Army Guard, the U.S. Army overall is enjoying healthy retention and reenlistment numbers this year.
According to a recent press release, the U.S. Army has already surpassed its Fiscal Year 2025 reenlistment goal by retaining 15,600 Soldiers. That’s 800 more than its stated goal of 14,800 well before the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30.
For information about Nevada Army Guard benefits or to extend your current contract, visit www.nationalguard.com/NV
| Date Taken: | 05.08.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.09.2025 01:04 |
| Story ID: | 497471 |
| Location: | CARSON CITY, NEVADA, US |
| Hometown: | CARSON CITY, NEVADA, US |
| Web Views: | 91 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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Recruiting and Retention Specialist
