Every one of the Army's 10 divisions — its key combat organizations — has exceeded its re-enlistment goal for the year to date. Those with the most intense experience in Iraq have the best rates. The 1st Cavalry Division is at 136 percent of its target, the 3rd Infantry Division at 117 percent.

What about first-time enlistment rates, since that was the issue last spring? The Army is running at 108 percent of its needs.

Reserve recruitment stands at 102 percent of requirements.

Guard recruitment and retention comes out to 106 percent of its requirements as of June 30.

////////////
Old news, probably, but I figured it could bear repeating for any that missed.

http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/52321.htm

[Edited on August 23, 2005 at 1:20 PM. Reason : requires a subscription, sorry. ]

8/23/2005 1:12:13 PM

you got a link

or did you get this from

http://www.magicfantasyland.gov

8/23/2005 1:14:02 PM

he never said US did he, perhaps he means a diff country.

8/23/2005 1:19:14 PM

What the article doesn't answer is whether or not they lowered their requirements in order to make sure they would be met this year.

8/23/2005 1:21:51 PM

now that seems like a reasonable explanation. something tells me it isnt true otherwise.

8/23/2005 1:31:04 PM

And it omits the National Guard.

Although it would be nice for them to reach their goals, if only so they could cut back on that stupid advertising.

8/23/2005 1:36:29 PM

The army lowered their requirements last year (or some previous year I remembered reading). There was a thread about how even though they lowered their requirements, they still didn't make their targets.'

Maybe they're getting better at recruiting though.

8/23/2005 2:10:52 PM

Quote :

"What the article doesn't answer is whether or not they lowered their requirements in order to make sure they would be met this year."

8/23/2005 2:15:05 PM

Its not so much the increase in recruitment as it is the increase in retention. There is less of a need for new recruits with people staying committed and therefore.

8/23/2005 2:26:42 PM

Good for them. As long as they're meeting their recruitment targets, we shouldn't have to worry about a draft or any psychotic business like that. You all should be cheering at this, whether they fudged around with the numbers or what.

8/23/2005 2:37:14 PM

hahaa it was funny to read the 7 or so immediate comments by the liberals trying to spin the news in a negative light

so predictable

8/23/2005 2:49:57 PM

yeah sorry
we don't like to give the gov't a free ride
sorry if that makes us, oh whats the word, americans

8/23/2005 2:53:47 PM

I'm never sharing my freedom fries with you again.

8/23/2005 2:55:41 PM

oh yea i'm sure the gov. is really hurtin now because you bitched at its success in this thread

i guess that makes you american dumbass

8/23/2005 3:56:31 PM

I don't understand how you can call this a partisan attack.

There was coverage for months about how nobody was meeting their recruiting goal. What the fuck to you expect when something like this would come out? Everybody to just say "Good job!!"?

How can you not be skeptical...

[Edited on August 23, 2005 at 4:07 PM. Reason : ed]

8/23/2005 4:06:26 PM

for what it's worth, i found this when searching for more information:


http://www.fednews-online.com/view_publication.aspx?publicationId=8250:

Quote :

" ARMY ANNOUNCES NEW RECRUITING CHIEF AS RECRUITING GOALS LAG 8/18/2005 Tuesday the Army announced that the Army Recruiting Command Headquarters will have a new commanding general effective Oct. 12, Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick. Bostick will be replacing Maj. Gen. Michael D. Rochelle who has been assigned to serve as director of the Installation Management Agency in Arlington, Va. Bostick served as commander of the Gulf Region Division for Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq. This change of command occurs as the army is facing one of its toughest recruiting periods. The monthly goals of both June and July were met, but the Army still has a long way to go before reaching the FY 2005 goal of 80,000 recruits. The Army, As of July 25, has achieved only 55,207 of that objective, a shortfall of 24,793. The Army Reserve goal for FY 2005 is 22,175 and, as of July 25, the Army Reserve has recruited 15,334. The Army Reserve lacks 6,841 to reach their FY 2005 goal. The Army has taken several steps to increase the numbers of recruits. First, recruiting incentives have increased, some to the highest levels ever. Current incentives the Army include: * The Army College Fund was raised to $70,344 * The student loan repayment program, which pays up to $65,000 toward qualifying student loans, is available to recruits who enlist in any specialty. * The special assignment incentive pay of $400 per month for up to 36 months for recruits who enlist in specific units and agree to be assigned to these units, since July 13. The number of recruiters has increased by nearly 1,000 and they are working all across the U.S. The additional recruiters are a recent increase for the Army Recruiting Command so their effectiveness is unknown at this point, said an Army Recruiting Command official. Finally, the Army Recruiting Command has a program called the Special Recruiter Assistance Program to aid with recruiting new soldiers. This program takes combat veterans age 25 or younger, and gives them the opportunity to share their stories of serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. “This month, nearly 1,000 soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division from Fort Hood will go across the U.S. telling of their experiences to people interested in the Army,” said Army Recruiting Command Public Information Specialist Julia Bobick. Recruiters will attend these events in case those interested have questions pertaining to joining the Army. Soldiers that take part in SRAP will be assigned to recruiting stations closest to their hometowns and will speak at school and community events scheduled by the recruiting station."

8/23/2005 4:15:32 PM

wow
a whole 2 months of MEETING the requirements

a far cry from "Armed Forces Recruitment Exceeds Targets"

8/23/2005 4:23:53 PM

Someone needs to find the average recruitment numbers when there isn't a split in the country. Your 136 and 117 percent of target is laughable compared to more favorable wars of the past. Way to push the issue.

8/23/2005 4:57:33 PM

Quote :

"The monthly goals of both June and July were met, but the Army still has a long way to go before reaching the FY 2005 goal of 80,000 recruits. The Army, As of July 25, has achieved only 55,207 of that objective, a shortfall of 24,793."

Talk about twisting the numbers. As of July 25, or eight out of twelve months, or 65.2% of the year, they have 55,207 out of 80,000 wanted, or 69% sought. As such, they are ahead of their recruitment goals by about 4%. Amazing how the author managed to spin this as a bad thing.

8/23/2005 6:20:39 PM

^ YOU are twisting the numbers too. There is no reason to believe the recruitment rate is constant throughout the year, so to say that they are ahead of the game is disingenuous, without offering evidence of constant recruitment rates.

Retail stores, for example, make most of their money in the latter part of the year, so it would be stupid to look at the July numbers for revenue, note that they are well below 50% of the yearly revenue, and say they are behind, when they make most of their money in the holiday season.

8/23/2005 6:28:56 PM

i would think that may-july would be the biggest time cause people are finishing high school

i have no idea if this is true but it makes sense

8/23/2005 6:31:29 PM

Quote :

"There is no reason to believe the recruitment rate is constant throughout the year"

there's also no reason to think that it ISN'T constant throughout the year... Or are you expecting a shit ton of people to sign up over Christmas too?

8/23/2005 6:32:20 PM

Actually there IS a reason to think it ISNT constant throughout the year.

In fact, by the military's own numbers it isn't.

Nobody graduates from HS in december.

Which is where the boost in recruitment comes from.

8/23/2005 6:41:07 PM

If you say the Army's own numbers demonstrate this, then show us the numbers.

I'm all for skepticism, but if you have numbers link them up, don't leave us guessing.

8/23/2005 11:07:51 PM

Quote :

"Nobody graduates from HS in december."

In my high school they did. I'd say about 25% of seniors every year at my high school graduate in December. That may be a midwest thing, but a lot of people do graduate in December. Now, I'm not saying that the recruiting numbers will be just as good or worse in December than in May-July, I'm just commenting on this particular comment.

8/23/2005 11:46:55 PM

Quote :

"If you say the Army's own numbers demonstrate this, then show us the numbers. "

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/10/AR2005061001897.html

Quote :

"Army Aims to Catch Up on Recruits in Summer Numbers Are Down tor Fourth Month By Ann Scott Tyson Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, June 11, 2005; Page A01 The Army announced yesterday that it missed its recruiting goal for the fourth consecutive month, a deepening manpower crisis that officials said would require a dramatic summer push for recruits if the service is to avoid missing its annual enlistment target for the first time since 1999. The Army will make a "monumental effort" to bring in the average 10,000 recruits a month required this summer, said Maj. Gen. Michael D. Rochelle, head of the Army's recruiting command. An additional 500 active-duty recruiters will be added in the next two months -- on top of an increase of 1,000 earlier this year. {{photo}} Staff Sgt. Stephen Pate, left, and Sgt. Mark Ward recruit in Hays, Kan. Enlistment often peaks during the summer. (By Jamie Roper -- Hays Daily News Via Associated Press) The Pentagon is also considering asking Congress to double the enlistment bonus it can offer to the most-prized recruits -- from $20,000 to $40,000 -- and to raise the age limit for Army active-duty service from 35 to 40, he said. "The challenge is one of historic proportions," Rochelle said, acknowledging that he is not sure whether the traditional summer surge in Army recruits will take place, or how large it might be. Violent, long deployments to Iraq and a sound job market at home have combined to reduce what the Army calls the "propensity to enlist" -- the percentage of young Americans willing to consider Army service -- which dropped from 11 percent last year to about 7 percent this year. "What I don't know, in all candor, is how the reduced propensity will dampen" the recruiting prospects of summer, Rochelle said in an interview. "I wish the summer period were about twice as long." The Army's recruiting difficulties are only expected to grow. "Next year promises quite frankly, given the size of our entry pool, to be an even tougher fight," he said. "God forbid a downward trend" in the willingness to serve, he added. The Army missed its May active-duty recruiting goal of 6,700 by 1,661 recruits, pushing the shortfall for fiscal 2005 to 8,321 -- or more than a month's worth of recruits. The shortfall would have been 37 percent if the Army had not lowered its May goal. Overall, the Army has sent 40,964 enlistees to boot camp, and has four months to nearly double that figure to reach the 80,000 goal for this fiscal year. Army, Navy and Marine Corps reserve forces also missed their goals for May. Army National Guard enlistments for the month fell short by 29 percent, Army Reserves by 18 percent, Marine Corps Reserves by 12 percent and Navy Reserves by 4 percent, according to figures released yesterday by the Pentagon. The Army is struggling the most, as it provides the bulk of the forces fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, and is working to increase in size to 512,000 by adding 30,000 troops to fill 10 new brigades. The sluggish flow of enlistments means that Army boot camps are less than half full -- training at 46 percent of their capacity this month, compared with 91 percent in May 2004, said Harvey Perritt, spokesman for the Army's Training and Doctrine Command. For example, the Army's infantry training center at Fort Benning, Ga., had by May trained only 8,700 of its fiscal year goal of 24,500 infantrymen. The Army can meet its goals only with a "massive influx of recruits" to boot camp this summer, Perritt said."

from page two of the article

Quote :

"Army officials stress that they are not lowering standards in the push for recruits. But they acknowledge they are slightly less selective in some areas -- for example, by taking more enlistees who lack high school diplomas. The Army also moved this month to take a harder look at keeping first-term soldiers in the force who might otherwise have been kicked out for problems such as drug abuse, poor conduct, or for failure to meet fitness or body-fat standards."

8/24/2005 12:36:57 AM

spin spin spin

8/24/2005 1:24:22 AM