I have noticed sponsorships on offshore boats, nascar, top fuel dragsters and others with army, coast guard etc. sponsorship decals on them. are these real sponsorships and if so where is that money coming from....private organizations or individuals with military backgrounds or taxpayers??

While I can't speak for the boats the US Army top fuel dragster is paid for in part by the Army recruiting budget.So yes you are paying for it.It does give them the chance to speak with many young people who might not have thought about the military.

JBS racing has had interest from the US navy and coast guard for sponsorship.Recruiting is what their biggest interest is.

The Coast Guard was partnered with NASCAR in 2004 - 2007 between Justin Labontie ( under Terry of course) and then Kevin Harvick
We havebeen with them since 2005....
They have a recruiting budget...that they use it for..
Of course now..the National Guard and Army have the biggest recruiting budget base on recruiting demands..
We have been moved also into the C.G. recruiting program since 2006
The C.G. is one of the few Services that are actully turning down a number of recruits...actually refering them to other services base on there test results...

When I partnered with the Coast Guard also Bill Dance ( pro fishing ) was also on the program, with Bill, myself and there was a US Olympic kayaker ( I forgot her name ) that were also there spokesmen and woman for Boating Safety for them,

With Harvick...there contracts were in the millions...

If we get the OK in St Clair's race from the organizers you will see a demo for recruiting being done before the race on Sunday...we have done this demo a number of times outside of the racing venues at Military events..and is pretty cool....

thanks Jeff, it would be nice to help recruit others, like yourself into the service...thank you for your service to our country...

manitie...thanks for the info, would love to meet up with you in St claire and see the Coast Guards demonstration, it must be awesome, looking forward to seeing it if you can get approval from the organizers.....

With the economy the way it is "ALL" the services are a bit more choosey of who qualifies, it depends on what you score on your asvabs, as to what you qualify for, IE, you want to be a Jet Mech, your scores are good enough for the AF, but they have no opening, they will tell you go to the Navy, Marines, etc. and its has been a long standing tradition that if one doesnt except them, they will get told to go to another, they always need people.

The Army NHRA T/F Dragster team, has X amount of soldier's with them at every event as Honorary team members. Most high profile sports do a lot for servicemembers as they have a large fan base throughout the world, including the combat zones. USO tours are continually going throughout the world with entertainers, bands, etc.

Stop by the boat and introduce yourself...I'll have some shirts there....

And thats a good question you posted...

We have had a contract with the National Guard for the past few years and are looking forward to continuing the relationship in years to come. Our 2010 contract is already established and we are in the process of finalizing our contract for FY 2011-2012.

National Guard sponsorship is based on recruiting and retention and establishing "viable contacts". In these fiscally conservative times no one is safe and the National Guard has felt the hit as much as everyone else. While they do put aside funds for recruiting that can be used on sponsorship those funds have become more limited over the past year.

Scott Brown
National Guard Offshore Racing
J & S Motorsports, LLC

Thanks scott, exactly how do they determine a teams ability to recruit, retain or establish viable contacts? While that would seem to be a important part of a contract and used to determine how to allocate their resources and sponsorship dollars, it seems that it would be difficult to measure objectively.

Thanks Manitie! I will make sure to stop by!