Department of Defense

Question for the CSEL

HING CMD Team,

What Incentives for HING members are being considered/ developed to retain quality Soldiers/Airmen in the HING. Only current HING specific incentives are tax break, and STAP. There is also the vehicle registration but active duty gets a better deal with that and is able to register multiple vehicles.

Answer:

The short answer is benefits and incentives come from legislation. However, I am going to jump on the Hawaii National Guard Enlisted Association (HNGEA) soap box to answer this one. The Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States (EANGUS) is the organization who fights for our federal incentives and benefits. You can read up on the more here (https://eangus.org/strategic-plan/). The HNGEA is our state level representation who advocate for our benefits at the State and National level. The higher our membership level AND regular participation determines our voice at both levels. We are currently sitting at 20% membership (912 out of 4600 Enlisted) for the state.

I encourage you and all our enlisted members to participate as much as possible. You can become a member here (https://hngea.org/).

The next HNGA/HNGEA event is on 13-14 FEB. Come be a part of the solution and help us get better incentives and benefits.