actioncorpsweekly%23Recruiting

Military Recruiting Drops 7 Percent: Recruiting statistics released by the Department of Defense last week reflect a 7 percent overall decrease in accessions for fiscal year 2018. In the Active Component, the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force met or exceeded their goals of 39,000; 31,556; and 29,450, respectively, while the Army was more than 6,500 soldiers short of their goal of 76,500. It was the first time since 2005 that the Army did not meet its goal. In the Reserve Component, only the Marine Corps Reserve and Air Force Reserve met or exceeded their goals of 8,990 and 5,282, respectively. The Navy Reserve came in 421 sailors short of their goal of 7,097. The Air National Guard was 870 airmen short of their 9,659 goal. The Army Reserve was 4,273 soldiers short of their goal of 15,600, and the Army National Guard was more than 9,700 short of their goal of 34,629 soldiers. Quoted in a Stars and Stripes article, Maj. Gen. Joe Calloway, the Army’s military personnel management director, blamed the Army’s shortfall largely on a strengthening U.S. economy in which fewer potential recruits are looking for jobs. Only about 30 percent of 17 to 24-year-olds can meet the mandatory requirements for consideration for military service –– a combination of physical, mental, and background attributes. According to the Pentagon, only about 13 percent of that target population is even interested in military service.