Army hits May recruit goal, challenge is ahead By Will Dunham

[Navy6064]

Army hits May recruit goal, challenge is ahead
1 hour, 46 minutes ago


The U.S. Army, which missed its fiscal 2005 recruiting goal, hit its 12th monthly target in a row in May, heading into a pivotal summer recruiting period that officials said will determine whether it makes this year's quota.
The Pentagon on Friday released military recruiting figures for May showing the active-duty Army got 5,806 recruits, topping the goal of 5,400, and the part-time Army National Guard and Army Reserve also reached their targets.
More than three years into the Iraq war, the Army continues to provide the bulk of U.S. ground forces in the conflict. Army officials have acknowledged the war has made some recruits and their families wary about volunteering.
With 42,859 soldiers recruited through the first eight months of fiscal 2006, the regular Army is 4 percent ahead of its year-to-date goal, aiming for 80,000 recruits by September 30. But it is only slightly ahead of the pace set last year, when it missed the same goal of 80,000 by 6,600 recruits.
In fact, a recent internal forecast suggested the active-duty Army would fall short of its annual goal again this year.
"If you're not careful, you start believing projections as being 100 percent (accurate), but they're not. They are rough approximations," said Army Recruiting Command spokesman Douglas Smith. "We're very pleased with our progress so far."
The Army has made 12 straight monthly recruiting goals in part because it lowered its numerical targets for several months in this fiscal year while greatly increasing the number of recruits budgeted to be sent to boot camp in June, July, August and September.
For example, in 2005 the Army's goal for June was 5,650 recruits; this June's goal is 8,600. Last July's goal was 7,450; this July's goal is 10,450.
"The summer months will be important to us," Smith said, noting that's when high school graduates and college students are deciding about their future.
INCENTIVES
In the latest in a series of steps aimed at boosting recruiting, the Army said it will pay $1,000 to retired soldiers who convince someone to enlist, expanding a program that began in January giving current soldiers a $1,000 bonus for finding a new recruit.
The Army Reserve got 3,835 recruits in May, beating its goal of 3,783, but remained 4 percent behind its year-to-date target. The Army National Guard netted 6,738 recruits in May, exceeding its goal of 6,420, and is 3 percent ahead of its year-to-date target.
The active-duty Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force also made their May goals, with the only military component to fall short being the Navy Reserve.
The Army has taken numerous steps to help recruiting, including raising the maximum age for enlistment, offering various financial incentives, adding recruiters and hiring a new advertising agency. It even relaxed its ban on certain types of tattoos to attract recruits who otherwise would have been disqualified from serving.
Separately, Army officials said they will give a $2,500 bonus to active-duty officers from other services of the military who transfer to the active-duty Army.
Fiscal 2005 was one of the toughest recruiting years since the start of the all-volunteer military in 1973, during the tumult of the Vietnam War era. Some analysts have said if the military cannot attract enough recruits, the United States might have to consider reinstating the draft.





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