http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=4233813&nav=23iiMilitary releases recruitment goal numbers
PENTAGON The Pentagon says that all four service branches exceeded their recruitment goals last month, with more than 13-thousand men and women signing up.
The retention of active-duty service members has been more problematic. Only the Army appears to be on track to meet their yearly retention goal. Ten-thousand-677 soldiers have "re-upped." The Army is hoping more than eleven-thousand-500 soliders will do so.
The recruitment and retention of members of the reserves and the National Guard has been an even tougher sell. The Army National Guard and the Marine and Air Force reserves have met their recruitment goals for Novemeber. The Army and Navy reserves and the Air National Guard did not.
Troop recruitment and retention have been an uphill battle for the armed services this year. Multiple Iraq deployments and year-long tours of duty have led some soldiers to opt out of the service. Congress has increased signing bonuses to get them to remain.