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US Army meets recruiting goal for year
Washington (AFP) Oct 2, 2007 The US Army met its recruiting goals for 2007, but faces stiff challenges as it attempts to grow more quickly in the midst of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a top general said Tuesday. Army leaders announced last week that they intend to increase the size of the active duty army by 65,000 troops in four years instead of five to ease the stress on the force. Lieutenant General Benjamin Freakley said the army plans to do it through higher re-enlistments and by teaming up with the National Guard to jointly recruit for both the active force and the Guard, a mostly reserve force. "We have met our goals for 2007 in recruiting," he said, declining to give numbers for the fiscal year which ended September 30. Its 2007 goal was to enlist 80,000 new soldiers. Freakley, who heads the US Army Accessions Command, told reporters the army's recruiting goal will remain at 80,000 enlistments in fiscal 2008. Asked if that would be sufficient to accelerate the army's growth, Freakley said, "If everything were to work as we speculate, the answer is yes. "But in any marketing business, you start with programs and they either mature and get traction or they don't. I have a wait and see attitude," he said. Freakley said competition with business for eligible military age males is intense, and parents and other "influencers" like coaches and teachers are cautioning youths against joining the military because of the war. "It's unpopular, and the influencers see it as dangerous," he said. "And they will talk to the youth -- whether it's a coach, or a priest, a parent, a friend -- and they will talk to the youth and discourage them from coming into the military," he said. Young officers graduating from the US Military Academy at West Point, or from officer training programs at universities, also are leaving the army in higher numbers when their commitment is up rather than making a career of the military, he said. The trend however "is down," he said, adding that the army was having "some success" in retaining officers by offering them options such as bonuses, graduate school study or their choice of a unit if they stay. The army is also under pressure from US Defense Secretary Robert Gates to raise its recruiting standards, which have slipped in recent years. Only about 80 percent of new enlistments graduated from high school, and Gates wants the army to get that back up to 90 percent. Also, the army is beginning the new fiscal year with less of a cushion of people who were recruited last year but whose entry into the service was delayed until this year. More than 10,000 recruits were in that "delayed entry pool" last year when the fiscal year began. "This year we're going to start the year at something like 6,500 and 7,000," Freakley said. "So it's going to be a challenge this year as it always is without a delayed entry pool." Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links The Military Industrial Complex at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Analysis: New defense intelligence policy
Washington (UPI) Sep 28, 2007 A new Pentagon policy directive for U.S. military intelligence mandates information-sharing with U.S. domestic agencies and foreign partners and recognizes the leading role of the new director of national intelligence. |
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