The Air National Guard has launched its first new recruiting advertising campaign in 10 years, producing new ads that feature Air Guardsmen and destined for theaters, radio, TV, magazines, and newspapers. Lt. Col. Randy Johnson, chief of ANG recruiting and retention, said the “robust campaign” is intended to get the Air Guard “story out and let people know who we are, what we do.” He noted that the campaign is using Air Guard assets to produce the ad spots—dubbing four key airmen at the Vermont ANG’s 158th Fighter Wing “Studio 158”—to put as much money as it can on purchasing ad space rather than engaging a marketing agency. According to Studio 158’s creative director, MSgt Rob Trubia, the Air Guard team can “make the same professional products a design agency would produce.” The Air National Guard has missed its recruiting goals for the past four years and has shown mixed results so far this fiscal year. (National Guard Bureau report by TSgt. Mike Smith)
Hundreds, or possibly thousands, of transgender service members have returned to work after two judges ordered preliminary injunctions blocking Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s ban of transgender service members and recruits. But their long-term future remains uncertain.