Recruitment Up in National Guard

When the National Guard was created in the Massachusetts Bay colony 370 years ago, its goal was to "protect families and property" at home. Centuries later, the Guard's mission has changed and its units are increasingly deployed abroad.

In fact, the Government Accountability Office reported in January that the US Armed Forces are depending more and more on the National Guard, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan.

So the Guard has stepped up its recruitment efforts and in Massachusetts, it has exceeded expectations. Recent figures show 130 men and women joined in the last three months of 2006. WBUR's Fred Thys visits one recruitment center to find out why.