Department Announces July Recruiting, Retention Data

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service

Aug. 18, 2010 - Three of the four services met or exceeded their active duty recruiting goals for July, and the one that fell short did so intentionally, Defense Department officials announced today.

The Marine Corps intentionally slowed down recruiting efforts by 1 percent last month because the service already is exceeding its fiscal 2010 recruiting goals, officials said.

The July goal, set a year in advance, was to bring in 2,847 new recruits. The Marine Corps signed on 2,845 recruits last month.

The Army recruited 6,975 soldiers, 104 percent of its goal. The Navy and Air Force met their goals by signing on 2,990 sailors and 1,920 airmen, respectively.

With two months left in fiscal 2010, all of the services have met or are above their fiscal year retention goals.

Meanwhile, three of the six reserve components met or exceeded their July accession goals, and the other three fell short on purpose.

The Navy Reserve met its goal, recruiting 553 sailors. The Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve exceeded their goals by 26 and 17 percent, respectively, as the Air National Guard signed on 507 recruits, and the Air Force Reserve brought in 671 airmen.

The Army National Guard, Army Reserve and Marine Corps Reserve intentionally scaled back accessions because they are ahead of their fiscal 2010 recruiting goals.

The Army Reserve recruited 1,613 soldiers, falling 6 percent short of its July goal. The Army National Guard missed by 24 percent, signing on 4,459 new Guardsmen, and the Marine Corps Reserve signed on 807 part-time Marines, 23 percent fewer than its original goal.

Retention rates in the active duty services are at or above goals for the first 10 months of the fiscal year, officials said, and attrition in all reserve components is within acceptable limits.