Topeka ? A car salesman looking for a way to pay for college was the first Kansan to benefit from the National Guard Bureau’s beefed-up enlistment bonus program.

Joe Starks, who enlisted last week, said he wasn’t aware that his signing bonus had increased from $8,000 to $15,000 because of his prior military service.

“The reason I was doing it was because I want to go back to school to finish my bachelor’s of business administration and for the retirement,” said Starks, who served in the Marine Corps from 1981 to 1987.

The National Guard also has increased bonuses to $15,000 for six-year re-enlistments and to $10,000 — up from $6,000 — for new recruits with no prior military experience. Newcomers who sign up for any of 10 programs listed as most essential for the war effort in Iraq can earn an additional $10,000.

Starks, 39, was a corporal in the Marines. He will enter the Army National Guard at the rank of specialist.

The Kansas Army National Guard has deployed 1,810 troops to the war in the Middle East, spokeswoman Joy Moser said.

“That still leaves us enough to do what we need to do,” she said. “If there are things that would be needed here, there would still be enough.”

Concerns about being sent overseas are hurting recruiting efforts, Sgt. Mark Albrecht, who is based in Hays, said.

“I don’t think people want to commit, with all that’s going on,” he said.