Army Misses April Recruiting Goal By 42%

[gnjsdad]

The war in Iraq continues to take its toll on the all-volunteer Army.

 

[gilliam]

gnjsdad:

The war in Iraq continues to take its toll on the all-volunteer Army.

I hope you post the news in the summer when recruitment spikes

 

[space_ghost]

…it taking it’s toll in lots of places… not just recruitment…

 

[Tom444]

Saying that the Army missed its recruiting goals means nothing without concrete figures on what both the recruiting goals and number of recruits were. When recruiters meet or exceed their goals, the goals are then raised for the next year. They could easily gain the same number or even more recruits this year than last, while still falling short of the new goals. That’s where success or failure is measured, not in some percentage of an arbitrary goal. I don’t have the statistics available to compare those numbers, but I wouldn’t make any conclusions based only on the linked article.

 

[Richardols]

Tom444:

Saying that the Army missed its recruiting goals means nothing without concrete figures on what both the recruiting goals and number of recruits were.

The article does give the Army goals and recruit numbers for April, at least.

 

[gilliam]

Last year, the Army set a goal of 30,000 new recruits by the end of fiscal 2005. Although officials have publicly admitted that recruiting numbers are down during the second quarter of the fiscal year, the Army remains committed to reaching that goal. Hoping to broaden its reach, the Defense Department plans to add as many as 250 recruiters in an effort to reach more potential recruits.

Something people need to realize is that April and May are historically poor months for the Army recruiting statistics. The Army only counts a new recruit when they report to Boot Camp (now called BCT or OSUT). Students in High School or College who are 1-2 months from graduation, will wait until graduation or the end of a school year to ship out to Basic. So these are quite months for the numbers (not for the recruiters).
see:
Despite Challenges, DoD Meeting Retention, Recruiting Goals

 

[Genesis315]

I would think recruitment numbers for a volunteer army would drop during any war. I mean, let’s be honest, there are some people who sign up for the army for the benefits during peace time who think they’ll be able to get through their time without going to war. These people are not going to sign up when there is a war going on. Likewise, many people of a Democratic party bent may feel like supporting the war is supporting Bush, so I’m sure that plays a part.

I wonder if during any other recent conflicts the recruitment numbers have dropped. Anyone know?