More residents in the Northern Mariana Islands are joining the Guam National Guard. The recruiting efforts are timely as the CNMI aims to establish its own.

Guam Army National Guard Sgt Juan Camacho said, “We are actively recruiting. There's a lot of interest in the community here in the CNMI.”

Recent natural disasters and the pandemic have renewed talks about the need for the National Guard, which can be activated by the Governor or U.S. president.

We spoke with recent recruits, who shared why they enlisted.

PFC Reyel Quezon was the first to enlist from Saipan in 2022 after ten years and he’s a graphic designer.

“Better my life, I guess, you know, just to add something new to challenging myself, you know, from working an office job, nine to five, to something that no one could ever know,” said PFC Quezon.

PFC Anna Canico is the first female to enlist from Saipan amid the renewed effort and she works for Delta Management Corporation.

PFC Canico said, “Being with my civilian job for ten years, I wanted to like experience something different, something out of this island and, you know, like to be in uniform, especially because a girl or like a woman or a female in uniform, it says a lot.”

PFC Randolf Ferrer enlisted while working for the Ports police.

“It was always something that I wanted to do when when I was younger, but I just never really had the chance to feel that that dream,” said PFC Ferrer.

Those dreams are now a reality as the CNMI hopes to establish its own unit, which requires Congressional action.

Camacho added, “The finish line would probably be to one day have CNMI National Guard.”