Soldiers in the Army Reserve and Army National Guard have less than a month to apply to the Call to Active Duty program, which selects officers and NCOs to go into the active component.

The deadline is July 7 for soldiers to file their application packets, officials at Human Resources Command said Friday in a notice to the force.

The program was opened to officers and warrant officers early in the year, then later expanded to include noncommissioned officers.

Putting out the call to officers and NCOs from the Army Reserve and National Guard is part of the Army's push to build the active component up to 476,000 soldiers by the end of the fiscal year, which is the end of September.

The Army's goal is to grow its end strength by 16,000 in the active force, and 28,000 total by Sept. 30. Part of the growth includes retaining 9,000 more soldiers than originally planned.

Applications may come from all Army Competitive Category branches, functional areas and warrant officer military occupational specialties.

Those not eligible to go active include special branches such as chaplain, judge advocate and Army Medical Department.

Reserve NCOs should get in contact with a local recruiter to check their options for going active, HRC spokeswoman Lt. Col. Janet Herrick told Army Times.

Selections will be made based on the Army’s needs at the time, HRC officials said.

Information about the program and how to apply is in a recent MILPER message.

The Call to Active Duty program is one of several tools the Army is using to reach the goal set out in the 2017 National Defense Authorization Bill. Others include enlistment bonuses and two-year enlistments for recruits, and re-enlistment bonuses to get soldiers to stay in.

The response to the Call to Active Duty program has been far larger than expected, Lt. Gen. Thomas Seamands, then the head of HRC, told Army Times in April.

Several thousand soldiers have inquired about making the transition, he said.

Guard and Reserve soldiers will bring expertise and experience with them as the Army brings in thousands of new recruits.

Staff writer Meghann Myers contributed to this report.

About Kathleen Curthoys

Kathleen Curthoys is editor of Army Times. She has been an editor at Military Times for 20 years, covering issues that affect service members. She previously worked as an editor and staff writer at newspapers in Columbus, Georgia; Huntsville, Alabama; Bloomington, Indiana; Monterey, California and in Germany.

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