Army misses its goals for recruiting
Army officials acknowledged that the service missed its active-duty recruiting target for the second month in a row. Two Defense officials said that the Army fell short of its 8,400 goal by about 15%. In May, it was about 7% short of its 5,500 goal.
Army spokesman Col. Dan Baggio said the Army was still on track to meet its annual goal of 80,000 recruits for the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, because it exceeded targets earlier in the year.
In addition to the increasing unhappiness with the war in Iraq, Baggio said, recruiting has been hampered by the fact that seven in 10 potential recruits do not meet the Army’s weight and education requirements.
July, August and September are traditionally the best months for military recruiters, and the Army hopes to take in 28,850 new soldiers in that period.
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