U.S. Army Meets Recruiting Goal for 12th Consecutive Month

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Army said Friday it surpassed its recruiting goal for May, the 12th consecutive month it met or exceeded its target.

Before it began the streak in June 2005 the active Army had missed its target four consecutive months, and even though results improved during the summer months it missed its full-year target for the first time since 1999. The Army National Guard and Army Reserve also fell short of their 2005 goals but are doing better now.

The regular Army signed up 5,806 recruits last month, compared to its target of 5,400, and the Army National Guard and Army Reserve also exceeded their May goals, statistics released by the Pentagon showed.

Nonetheless, eight months into its budget year the active Army is barely beyond the halfway mark of recruiting its goal of 80,000 new soldiers. Through May it had signed up 42,859 recruits, meaning that in the final four months of the period it will have to enlist an average of close to 9,300 per month to reach 80,000.

Last year the only month the active Army came close to signing up 9,300 in a single month was August, when it got 9,452.

The Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps also met their May recruiting goals, the Pentagon said.