Army misses 2018 recruiting goal

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

For the first time since 2005, the U.S. Army missed its recruiting goal this year, falling short by about 6,500 soldiers, despite pouring an extra $200 million into bonuses and approving some additional waivers for bad conduct or health issues.

Army leaders said they signed up about 70,000 new active-duty recruits in the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30 – well below the 76,500 they needed. The Army National Guard and Army Reserves also fell far short of their goals, by more than 12,000 and 5,000 respectively. The Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, meanwhile, all met their recruiting goals for 2018.

The Army’s shortfall, said Maj. Gen. Joe Calloway, was fueled by the strong American economy and increased competition from private-sector employers who can pay more. But the failure has triggered an overhaul in Army recruiting, including an increase in recruiters, expanded marketing and a new effort to reach out to young, potential recruits through popular online gaming.

“We obviously thought we would do better than that,” said Calloway, director of military personnel management for the Army, when asked about the recruiting gap in an Associated Press interview. He said there were several thousand permanent legal residents seeking to enlist, but they did not get through the screening process in time. And, he said that in the last three years Army recruiters have brought in 3,000-5,000 more enlistees than planned during the last three months of the fiscal year.