Retired Army Maj. Gen. Eldon Regua has been part of the effort to boost military recruitment in California.
California, based on U.S. Army Recruiting Command stats, is the leading state when it comes to raw numbers of recruits but when it comes to per capita enlistments in the Army it trails New Virgina, and Texas.
Regua, a Manteca resident at Del Webb Woodbridge, was selected by the Army’s deputy undersecretary Mario Diaz in 2023 to help boost the Army’s California recruitment numbers.
Regua shared with Manteca Rotarians last week that even though California may still have the largest number of active stationed military personnel of all the states thanks largely to bases in the Mojave Desert and elsewhere in the south state, he noted the last few decades has seen a significant retreat of the military’s presence.
The need to increase recruiting comes as the military’s needs are changing.
“It’s a lot more than recruiting for soldiers to pull the trigger,” Reguaa said. “ . . . (The military) is going after cyber in a big way.”
He noted much of the drone technology being used in Ukraine is field testing, if you will, of the Mountain View Defense Innovation Unit’s efforts to upgrade “commercial off the shelf” drones for military applications.
Regua noted Special Forces teams that typically consuist of 12 soldiers not only need a drone operator among their ranks but a counter drone operator to disable the enemies’ drones as well.
Even through tech is essential, at the end of the day people are needed for the military to carry out the Army’s mission of safeguarding American interests and preserving the peace.
Regua noted there were 12.2 million active American military personnel during World War II, 3.5 million in 1968 at the peak of the Vietnam War, and 1.1 million today.
In addition, there are currently 1.1 million military reservists.
The targeted recruiting range are those under 28 years of age.
Part of that effort are high school JROTC programs.
And while they are not designed as a conduit for military service, they make young people aware of military options.
Regua stressed that the JROTC are set up to promote team work, discipline, and other skills needed for people to work together cohesively and effectively.
His notation about the JROTC not being a direct conduit to the military service was reflected in an assessment 20 years ago at Manteca High where it was found that a higher percentage of the student body population — especially those in football and other sports — ended up pursuing military careers after high school than the JROTC students.
Manteca Unified embraced the JROTC as involvement has led to better educational outcomes for students and give them a sense of belonging.
That said, Manteca Unified has five of the 80 allotted Army JROTC units in California.
“Superintendent Clark Burke (and the board) understand the value JROTC,” Regua said when it comes to plugging students effectively into school.
He noted Burke is an active Army reserve officer.
As far as recruiting, California’s population of roughly 39.5 million meant in 2024 that the state had the most recruits but only the second highest percentage on a per capita basis at 10.5 percent behind Texas at 13.3 percent.
California did improve from 9.7 percent of all recruits during 2023.
Texas has one person in the military for every 600 eligible Texans. For California, that number is one for every 1,000.
Nationally, the 24,185 Army recruits in 2024 received an average signing bonus of $16,900. That compares to an average of $15,500 for 6,068 Army Reserve recruits.
Regua was selected by President Trump during his first term to serve as the United States’ representative to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
In diplomatic lingo formalized by the 1961 Congress of Vienna, that means Regua served as the head of the mission as the president’s personal representative.
Regua served in the United States Army and the Army Reserve for 36 years before his retirement in 2013. Regua last served as Deputy Commanding General/Chief of Staff (Wartime) for the United States Eighth Army headquartered in Seoul, Korea. Prior to that, he was the Commanding General of the 75th Training Division of the United States Army Reserve in Houston, Texas. He also served as the Chief of Staff, Assistant Division Commander and then Commanding General of the 104th Training Division in Vancouver, Washington.
Regua was born and raised in San Jose. Growing up he worked picking prunes, walnuts, green beans and apricots.
The 1973 graduate of Silver Creek High School completed a Bachelors’ of Science in Commerce at Santa Clara University where he was part of the Army ROTC. He earned a Master of Business Administration Degree from Chapman University and a Master in Strategic Studies Degree from the United States Army War College.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
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