Army Recruiting Goal Falls Short

The Army said Thursday that it had signed up 27% fewer recruits than it had wanted in February. The announcement came a day after the Marine Corps said it had missed its recruiting goal for a second month.

The Iraq war was cited as one factor that made recruiting more difficult.

The Army’s announcement that it had 1,936 fewer recruits than its February target of 7,050 marked the first time it had missed a monthly target since May 2000.

Lawrence Di Rita, the Pentagon spokesman, acknowledged that concern about being sent to Iraq had been a factor. But he said there were other reasons why recruiting was tougher, including an improving economy creating more job options.

“The war is obviously having an effect,” said Army Recruiting Command spokesman Douglas Smith. “Our recruiters are having to spend more time with hesitation on the part of potential applicants and their families. People are very alert to the fact of the risks that go along with Army service.”

Di Rita says the Army is putting more recruiters on the street and offering larger bonuses to recruits. The Marines are offering new reenlistment bonuses.

Lt. Col. Brian Hilferty, an Army spokesman, said the service had signed up about 94% of the recruits it had planned to have by this point in the fiscal year, which began Oct. 1. It will have to exceed monthly targets at some point to reach its full-year goal of 80,000 recruits.

January marked the first time in more than a decade that the Marines fell short of their monthly goal for recruits, who would begin serving within a year. In February, the service had a target of 2,964 recruits; it signed up 2,772.

The Marines say they are still meeting targets for the number actually entering boot camp.

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Michael Hagee told reporters last week that some parents were advising potential recruits to wait to sign up.

“They’re saying, ‘It’s not, maybe, a bad idea to join the Marine Corps, but why don’t you consider it a year from now or two years from now? Let’s think about this.’ So the recruiters are having to work much harder out there right now,” he said.

The Army Reserve and Army National Guard, whose part-time soldiers have shouldered a heavy load in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, also are reporting recruiting shortfalls. The Army Reserve missed its goals in January and February and is behind in its targets for the year.

The Army National Guard, which missed its 2004 recruiting target, did not provide February numbers, but said it had shortfalls for the first four months of the current fiscal year.