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Army misses recruiting goal for first time in over a decade
[Wash Times] The Army missed its recruiting goal this year for the first time in well over a decade, which officials blamed on increased competition in a strong private-sector economy and the fact that "nobody wants to talk" to recruiters on the phone or face to face these days.

For the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, Army leaders said they pulled in about 70,000 new recruits. The goal was 76,500.

It’s the first time the Army fell short of its target since 2005, and all of the other branches of the military hit their benchmarks this year.

"We obviously thought we would do better than that," Maj. Gen. Joe Calloway, director of military personnel management for the Army, told the Associated Press, adding that in recent years the Army had pulled in at least 3,000 more recruits than expected.

"There was hope that they would be able to do the same thing this year," he said. "That did not pan out."

Mr. Calloway said the strong economy is partly to blame, as at least some potential recruits have chosen against enlisting and instead sought out jobs in the private sector. That reality comes even as the Army has relaxed some of its rules on permitting recruits with previous marijuana use or certain health issues.
Posted by: Besoeker 2018-09-22
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=523782