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Army hits June recruit goal

Posted on: Monday, 10 July 2006, 16:58 CDT

By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army, aiming to avoid missing a second straight annual recruiting goal amid the Iraq war, achieved its June target, the Pentagon said on Monday, while denying the military is taking lower-quality volunteers.

The active-duty Army sent 8,756 new recruits into boot camp in June, beating its goal of 8,600 and reaching its monthly target for the 13th straight time.

The Army, seeking 80,000 new soldiers by the end of fiscal 2006 on September 30, is now 4 percent ahead of its year-to-date goal nine months through the fiscal year. Army Secretary Francis Harvey recently said he was "cautiously optimistic" the Army would get 80,000 recruits.

The four-month period from June through September, with the highest monthly recruiting goals of the year, will determine whether the Army makes its 2006 target after missing the same 80,000 goal a year ago. Officials said they already have secured nearly 90 percent of the recruits needed to meet July's goal.

"Obviously we're pleased with our success so far this year," said Douglas Smith, spokesman for the Army Recruiting Command.

The Army has taken numerous steps to help recruiting, including raising the age limit for enlistment to a person's 42nd birthday, offering various financial incentives, adding recruiters and hiring a new advertising agency.

The part-time Army National Guard and Army Reserve also made their June recruiting goals, as did the active-duty Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force, according to Pentagon figures. The only component of the military to fall short was the Navy Reserve, which is now 17 percent behind its year-to-date goal.

QUALITY STANDARDS

More than three years into the war, the Army continues to provide the bulk of U.S. ground forces in Iraq. Army officials have acknowledged the war has made some recruits and their families wary about volunteering. More than 2,540 U.S. troops have been killed in the war.

Officials denied the military was meeting its recruiting goals because it was enlisting lower-quality recruits.

"The quality standards for the military are very high," said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman. "The quality of the force is very high."

The Army now allows a higher percentage -- up to 4 percent -- of recruits with lower scores on its aptitude test. It also is granting more waivers to allow people with a prior misdemeanor criminal offense, drug or alcohol issue or medical problem.

Through the first seven months of fiscal 2006, 15.5 percent of recruits had received such waivers, compared to 12 percent in fiscal 2003 and 2004 and 15 percent in fiscal 2005.

"We realize that people do make mistakes and overcome their mistakes in life," Smith said. "And we believe that those people, if they have proven that they have overcome a mistake, deserve a chance to serve."

Some critics have argued the quality of new recruits is dropping. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks racist activities in the United States, last week said neo-Nazis and other white supremacists increasingly have been able to enlist in the Army due to recruiting pressures stemming from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The U.S. military moved to an all-volunteer force in 1973, during the tumult of the Vietnam War era.

Source: REUTERS

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