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National Guard proposes next-generation leadership pilot with DPI to boost recruitment
Summary
The North Dakota National Guard asked for two FTEs to pilot an in-person module for the Next Generation Leadership program, expanding a distance-learning curriculum run by the Center for Distance Education and coordinating with the Department of Public Instruction.
The North Dakota National Guard told the Appropriations - Government Operations Division it seeks two full-time positions to pilot an in-person version of a Next Generation Leadership program designed to expose high-school students to military and career options.
Jackie Hubert, deputy adjutant general for the North Dakota National Guard, said the pilot would build on a distance-learning course launched by the Center for Distance Education in January and add face-to-face instruction and recruiting-retention support in the Bismarck–Mandan area. “We were working in silos, but came together here in October,” Hubert said, describing collaboration between the Guard, the Center for Distance Education and the Department of Public Instruction.
Hubert noted that the guard’s recruiting pool is constrained: of roughly 91,000 people in the targeted 17-to-24 age cohort, only about 23 percent are eligible for military service nationwide after screening for medical, behavioral and legal disqualifiers. She said the combined eligibility and propensity metrics leave a much smaller recruitable population — “just under 1,600 folks” in the state — and that programs aimed at early exposure can increase interest and awareness among students.
Committee members asked whether the Guard still needs the two FTEs now that DPI is developing content. Hubert said the positions would support an in-person pilot in Bismarck–Mandan, with one staffer coordinating and one instructor, and that the pilot would test expansion to other communities that lack Junior ROTC programs. She said DPI had not yet committed FTEs to the effort.
Lawmakers suggested exploring cost-share options with school districts; Hubert said conversations with Bismarck Public Schools and DPI were ongoing but not finalized.
Ending: Committee members left the pilot on hold for further discussion, including questions about measures of success and potential cost-sharing arrangements.
