Latest DOD Recruiting Numbers

A couple of weeks ago, Paul and I had a little discuission in the comments section of this post about military recruiting. Today I happened to across the latest numbers released by the Pentagon. Paul is right in his clarification that recruting goals are not being met by the Army. Year-to-Date, the Army is 11% is below goal, although the July numbers looked promising. The other branches are operating at, or above, goal.

However, it is also important to look at FY05 recruiting shortfalls among the Reserve Component, where only two of the services are operating at goal. The other four are experiencing serious shortfalls, in the range of 16-23%. And all of these numbers must also be viewed through the lens of the military reducing standards to encourage recruitment and retention.