Troop Levels Stretched Thin? Not Quite

The Department of Defense has announced its recruiting and retention statistics by the active and reserve components for the month of January.

Active duty recruiting. All services exceeded their recruiting goals in January. The Navy’s recruiting goal was 2,694 , and it enlisted 2,726 (101 percent). The Marine Corps’ goal was 3,044, and it recruited 3,234 (106 percent). The Air Force goal was 2,898, and it recruited 2,915 (101 percent). The Army's goal was 8,100, and it recruited 8,337 (103 percent).

Active duty retention. All services are projected to meet their retention goals for the current fiscal year.

Reserve forces recruiting. Three of the six reserve components met or exceeded their recruiting goals this month.

* Army National Guard: Goal: 5,614 Recruited: 6,341 (113 percent)
* Army Reserves: Goal: 3,234 Recruited: 3,114 (96 percent)
* Air National Guard: Goal: 752 Recruited: 678 (90 percent)
* Air Force Reserves: Goal: 2,354 Recruited: 2,362 (100 percent)
* Navy Reserves: Goal: 859 Recruited: 757 (88 percent)
* Marine Corps Reserves: Goal: 852 Recruited: 854 (100 percent)

Reserve forces retention. For January, Army National Guard retention was 103 percent of the cumulative goal of 10,511, and Air National Guard retention was 98 percent of its cumulative goal of 3,256. Both Guard components are currently at 96 and 99 percent of their end strength, respectively. Losses in all reserve components for December are well within acceptable limits. Indications are that trend will continue into January.

Fiscal 2006 Enlisted Recruiting from October 1, 2005 - January 31, 2006

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/06recruiting.htm