U.S. military meets 2006 recruiting goals: report

All active services of the U.S. military reached their targets for recruits in 2006, a year after the Army failed to meet its annual recruiting goal by the widest margin in two decades, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

For active-duty forces, the Army signed up 80,635 people in the 2006 fiscal year, which ended at midnight on Sept. 30, topping its goal of 80,000.

The Navy recruited 36,679 people, after setting a goal of 36,656 people; the Marines enlisted 32,337 people, with a goal of 32,301 people, and the Air Force recruited 30,889 people, topping its goal of 30,750 people.

Some efforts to meet recruiting goals brought criticism, particularly the Army's decisions to raise recruits' maximum age from 35 to 42 and to accept a larger percentage of applicants scoring at the lowest acceptable range on a standardized aptitude examination, the report said.

The Army also offered large bonuses to recruits signing up for some of its more dangerous assignments, including up to 40,000 U.S. dollars for soldiers willing to drive convoy trucks in Iraq.

Cash bonuses are often cited as the primary incentive for recruits, and Pentagon statistics indicate that two-thirds of those who sign up receive bonuses.

In the fiscal year 2005, the Army fell around 6,600 recruits short of its target of 80,000 new soldiers, the first time the services had failed to meet enlistment goals since 1999 and the largest shortfall margin in more than two decades.

Across the reserve component, the Air Force Reserve recruited 6,989 people, well in excess of its goal of 6,607; and the Marine Corps Reserve topped its goal of 8,024 by signing up 8,056.

The Air National Guard reached 97 percent of its goal, signing up 9,138 people, below its target of 9,380, and the Navy reserve attracted 9,722 people, just 87 percent of its goal of 11,180.

The Army National Guard, which can be mobilized for service in war zones as well as for national emergencies, approached its goal of 70,000 by recruiting 69,042, while the Army Reserve met 95 percent of its goal, recruiting 34,379, against a target of 36,032.

Source: Xinhua