US Military Meets, Exceeds Most Recruiting Goals for May 2009

News in Balance:

Guard and Army Reserve totals lower for the month.

WASHINGTON, June 10, 2009 -- May was a banner recruiting month for many military services, but especially for the Marine Corps, which topped its active-duty goal by 42 percent and its Marine Corps Reserve goal by 12 percent, Defense Department officials announced today.

The Marine recruiting successes represent a particularly high point among across-the-board recruiting successes in which every service met or exceeded its May active-duty goal, officials said.

The reserve components reported similar progress. The three components that fell short of their projected May goals did so because only because they already have reached 112 percent of their year-to-date goals, officials explained.

The Army exceeded its active-duty goal by 4 percent, recruiting 4,044 soldiers. The Marine Corps reported 2,146 active-duty accessions, 42 percent above its goal of 1,516.

Meanwhile, the Navy and Air Force met their monthly active-duty goals, with 2,542 and 2,289 accessions, respectively.

In the reserve components, the Marine Corps Reserve reported 1,196 accessions, 212 percent of its May goal. The Air Force Reserve exceeded its goal by 7 percent, with 770 accessions. The Navy Reserve met its goal, recruiting 574 sailors.

Three reserve components that reported lower-than-initially-expected May recruiting figures all have achieved 112 percent of their year-to-date projections, officials said.

The Army National Guard signed on 3,026 members, 83 percent of its initial May goal. The Air National Guard, with 766 accessions, met 95 percent of its original goal. The Army Reserve recruited 3,178 members, 96 percent of its initial goal.

Officials noted that the May statistics represent the last monthly recruiting efforts before the 2009 high school graduations. This is expected to usher in a busy recruiting month as new graduates join the military.

Marine 1st Lt. Brian Block, a Marine Corps spokesman, called the May recruiting statistics particularly noteworthy because they were achieved without sacrificing quality.

“It says a lot about the organization of the Marine Corps and the tradition we have carried since we were originally founded,” he said. “We take the best and the brightest. And what ultimately attracts people to the Marine Corps is the honor of carrying the title ‘Marine.’”

National Guard Bureau spokesman Army Col. Jamie Davis called recruiting successes in the Army and Air Guard an encouraging sign of “the level of support and patriotism that American citizens have for their country.”

Army Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz, chief of the Army Reserve, lauded continued recruiting successes in the Army Reserve. He noted that the Army Reserve reached its new 206,000-member end-strength objective a year ahead of schedule. During fiscal 2008, the Army Reserve exceeded its goals by recruiting more than 44,000 soldiers and re-enlisting more than 16,000 soldiers, he said.

(Report from a U.S. Defense Department news release.)

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