Many, Many , Moons ago when I was a Navy Recruiter in Indiana I was awarded a Letter of Appreciation from the National Guard for putting 4 people in the Guard in one month 2 x more than I put in the Navy. I got alot of ribbing from my fellow recruiters, I can guarentee you that for sure. It used to be that kids joined the Guard to play a Little Army and get some money to go to Collage. After 911 all that changed, The National Guard and the Other branches of the military's perspective Reserve Units were activated and many were deployed for a long time, and the re activated and deplyed yet again.
For those that do not know the National Guard is funded By the State that it is named for. It is used to help the state out in emergency situations like helping evacuate Hurricane or Flood victims. However when the President declared war after 911 they were activated to supliment the US Army either state side or over seas in the war zones. So they can no longer be thought of as just weekend warriors but an intricate part of our defending Military Forces.
Not sure why this was shut down except for maybe downsizing and consolidation.