Army exceeds recruiting goals for 13th month

updated 3:10 p.m. ET July 10, 2006

WASHINGTON - The Army surpassed its recruiting goal for June, the Pentagon said Monday, marking the 13th consecutive month the service met or exceeded its target.

The Navy met its goal and Air Force and Marine Corps exceeded theirs slightly, according to Defense Department statistics.

Recruiting is especially important to the Army, which has been stretched thin by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The active-duty Army, which is offering a wider array of financial incentives for potential recruits and has put thousands more recruiters on the street, found 8,756 new recruits last month, compared with its target of 8,600, the Pentagon said.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman attributed the recruiting success of all the services to extra effort they’ve put toward recruiting.

“They made this a priority and they committed resources, and the fruit is being born of their efforts,” Whitman told Pentagon reporters.

Before it began its successful recruiting 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 target that year 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.

With June’s additions, the active Army now has 51,612 of the 80,000 new recruits it hopes to sign by the end of the 2006 budget year on Sept. 30.

Also in June, the Navy recruited 3,961 or 100 percent of its monthly goal; the Marine Corps recruited 4,357 or 105 percent, and the Air Force recruited 2,564 or 101 percent.

The reserve and National Guard components of the services also met or exceeded their recruiting goals in June except for the Navy Reserve, which recruited 95 percent of its target.

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