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.