Draft:Guard Recruiting Assistance Program

The Guard Recruiting Assistance Program (G-RAP) was initiated in 2005 by the U.S. Army National Guard to bolster recruitment during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The program enlisted off-duty soldiers as Recruiting Assistants, offering financial incentives of up to $2,000 for each successful referral. Over its seven-year span, G-RAP facilitated approximately 130,000 enlistments, marking it as one of the Guard's most effective recruiting initiatives.

In 2012, concerns about potential widespread fraud within G-RAP prompted the Army's Criminal Investigation Division (CID) to launch Task Force Raptor, a comprehensive investigation reviewing nearly every G-RAP payment. This extensive probe led to the examination of over 106,000 participants. Despite the scale of the investigation, only about 150 individuals were criminally charged, with even fewer convictions.

However, the investigation had significant repercussions for many soldiers who were never charged. Over 2,000 soldiers were "titled" by CID, meaning they were officially listed as subjects of an investigation which delayed or cancelled promotions; people were barred from re-enlistment. Additionally, approximately 1,900 soldiers were "indexed" in an FBI criminal database, listed them as arrested when no arrests occurred. Many of these individuals were unaware of their status until they faced issues such as delayed promotions, denied security clearances, or challenges in civilian employment.

The U.S. Army has faced significant scrutiny for creating false arrest records for numerous soldiers and veterans, leading to severe personal and professional repercussions. This issue primarily stems from the Army's Criminal Investigation Division (CID) practice known as "titling," where individuals are listed as subjects of investigations based on credible information, regardless of whether they are formally charged or arrested. In many instances, these titles were reported to the FBI's criminal database, inaccurately reflecting arrests that never occurred.

A representative case involves Staff Sgt. Denise Rosales of the Texas Army National Guard. After hosting a birthday party for her husband during a deployment in Kuwait, she received an administrative reprimand for allegedly possessing alcohol. Despite not being arrested or charged, her background check indicated an arrest.

In 2022, the Army initiated a comprehensive review, reopening approximately 1,900 cases related to a recruiting fraud investigation. This review identified between 100 to 200 individuals who were wrongfully entered into federal criminal databases. The Army has since committed to correcting these records.

A class-action lawsuit filed in October 2023 alleges that the Army, along with the FBI and the Department of Defense, knowingly assigned false arrest records to thousands of service members over six years. The lawsuit seeks to halt the creation of such records and seeks compensation for those affected.

The implications of these false records affects employment opportunities, security clearances, and personal reputations. The issue underscores the need for systemic reforms to prevent such occurrences in the future.