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FILE - Students in the new Army prep course stand at attention after physical training exercises at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C., Aug. 27, 2022. The Army fell about 15,000 soldiers — or 25% — short of its recruitment goal this year, officials confirmed Friday, Sept. 30, despite a frantic effort to make up the widely expected gap in a year when all the military services struggled in a tight jobs market to find young people willing and fit to enlist. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford, File)

Army misses recruiting goal; other services squeak by

While the Army was the only service that didn't meet its target, all of the others had to dig deep into their pools of delayed entry applicants, putting them behind as they begin the next recruiting year.

RELATED Social media and influencers key to military recruitment of young people, defense officials say
RELATED National Guard could lose up to 14,000 soldiers in next two years because of COVID vaccine mandate
RELATED Army moving ‘very quickly’ toward expanding recruit prep course amid troop-level crunch, service chief says

FILE - This photo taken from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, shows a Zircon cruise missile being launched from a Russian navy's frigate during military drills. Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that he wouldn't hesitate to use nuclear weapons to ward off Ukraine's attempt to reclaim control of its occupied regions that Moscow is about to absorb. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)

Russia's annexation puts world 'two or three steps away' from nuclear war

The 202nd RED HORSE Squadron clear roads in Fort Myers Beach, Florida in response to Hurricane Ian, Sept. 30, 2022. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Jesse Hanson)

Agencies lend aid to Hurricane Ian recovery

Americans captured by Russia detail months of beatings, interrogation

North Korea carries out another round of ballistic missile testing, South’s military says

US defense chief in Hawaii amid distrust after fuel spill

more top news

Sailor acquitted of arson in San Diego Navy ship fire

New commanders of Space Force and STRATCOM confirmed by Senate

Army looking at expanding which soldiers can move out of barracks

Coast Guard rescues more than 100 people in Florida, S.C. Guard readies response as Ian makes second landfall

Congress approves third aid package for Ukraine totaling $12.3 billion as Russia annexes territory

VA to open caregiver program to all veterans Saturday

Medical barracks in San Antonio emptied after bacteria found in the water

New Army command in Wiesbaden to coordinate war support for Ukraine, report says

multimedia

military matters podcast

ICYMI episode: Pseudoscience, the occult and the rise of Nazi Germany

branches

Army

Army rescue crews help evacuate dozens off Florida’s Sanibel Island

Army misses recruiting goal; other services squeak by

Army looking at expanding which soldiers can move out of barracks

Air Force

The 202nd RED HORSE Squadron clear roads in Fort Myers Beach, Florida in response to Hurricane Ian, Sept. 30, 2022. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Jesse Hanson)

Agencies lend aid to Hurricane Ian recovery

Air Force to (some) THC users: You might get a second chance

Hurricane Hunters flight into and above Ian especially harrowing and important

Navy

A video screen grab shows Seaman Recruit Ryan Sawyer Mays speaking outside a military courthouse in San Diego on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, after he was found not guilty of setting a fire that destroyed the $1.2 billion USS Bonhomme Richard.

Sailor acquitted of arson in San Diego Navy ship fire

Five USS Nimitz sailors report health concerns possibly linked to water contaminated by fuel

US forces seize nearly $100 million in heroin, hashish in Middle East

Space Force

Space Force Lt. Gen. Bradley Saltzman, left, and Air Force Gen. Anthony Cotton.

New commanders of Space Force and STRATCOM confirmed by Senate

NASA delays moon rocket launch due to potential hurricane

Nominee to lead Space Force shares vision

Coast Guard

A Coast Guard Cutter Kimball crewmember observing a foreign vessel in the Bering Sea, September 19, 2022.

The Coast Guard Cutter Kimball crew on a routine patrol in the Bering Sea encountered a People’s Republic of China Guided Missile Cruiser, Renhai CG 101, sailing approximately 75 nautical miles north of Kiska Island, Alaska.

Coast Guard cutter goes on alert with sighting of Russian-Chinese naval formation near Alaska

Christian Coast Guard members sue over religious objections to military's coronavirus vaccine mandate

As storm-battered Western Alaska takes stock of damage and begins cleanup, officials pledge help

Marine Corps

The Navy-run Department of Defense Reservation Center began handling Marine Corps lodging requests on Sept. 12, 2022.

Navy’s one-stop hotel reservation center is now booking rooms on Marine bases

Navy, Marine Corps create integrated task force for 18-month Indo-Pacific experiment

Marines to send F-35Bs to Philippines, fire HIMARS there and in Japan next month

theaters

U.S.

The National Archives building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. MUST CREDIT: Washington Post photo by Jonathan Newton.

National Archives says it's still missing records from Trump officials

Florida deaths rise to 47 amid struggle to recover from Ian

Americans captured by Russia detail months of beatings, interrogation

Europe

Cypriots reservist of special forces march during a military parade marking the 62nd anniversary of Cyprus' independence from British colonial rule, in Nicosia, Cyprus, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. Cyprus gained independence from Britain in 1960 but was split along ethnic lines 14 years later when Turkey invaded following a coup aimed at uniting the island with Greece. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Minister: Greece can defend islands despite Turkey's threats

Russia's Gazprom halts gas supplies to Italy in latest energy battle

Searching for bodies with the Ukrainian captain collecting Russian corpses

Asia-Pacific

Park Sang-hak, a North Korean defector-turned-activist, holds a placard condemning North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the border town of Paju, South Korea, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022.

South Korean activists clash with police over anti-Kim balloons

129 dead after fans stampede to exit Indonesian soccer match

Imperial Guard Headquarters' school holds grad ceremony

Middle East

Palestinian mourners carry the body of Fayez Damdoum in the West Bank village of Azariyah, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. Israel's paramilitary border police said forces shot a protester who attempted to throw a firebomb at them as they came to disperse a demonstration. It said demonstrators threw stones and explosives at them. The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the dead youth as 18-year-old Fayez Damdoum. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Israeli forces kill Palestinian teen after alleged firebomb

US delivers proposal for maritime border to Lebanon

Kurdish exiles back Iran protests but deny organizing them

Africa

Pasika Bagerimana's daughter Mahigwe stands outside a temporary shelter she shares with others who fled fighting, in Nyiragongo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Aug. 31, 2022.

Rebel violence in eastern Congo causes hunger to soar

In Burkina Faso, a coup within a coup

Ethiopia’s civil war is heating up once again

Americas

FILE - This undated file photo posted on Twitter on June 18, 2020, by Venezuela's Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza, shows CITGO oil executives Jose Angel Pereira, from left to right, Gustavo Cardenas, Jorge Toledo, Jose Luis Zambrano, Tomeu Vadell and Alirio Jose Zambrano, standing outside the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service, in Caracas, Venezuela. On Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, Venezuela freed seven Americans, including five oil executives imprisoned for nearly five years, in exchange for the release of two nephews of President Nicholas Maduro's wife who had been jailed for years by the United States on drug smuggling convictions. (Posted on Twitter by Jorge Arreaza/Venezuela's Foreign Ministry via AP File)

Venezuela releases 7 jailed Americans; US frees 2 prisoners

Protests erupt in Cuba after days without power in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian

Mexico is world’s deadliest spot for environmental activists

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Europe

Greece: Athens & the Peloponnese

Sunny in Switzerland: Interlaken

10 Things to Know About Lisbon

Japan

Latest on Japan travel restrictions: Entry, events & more

Taste of Japan: Pairing side dishes with adult beverages

Quick trip to Tokyo’s terrific Mt. Takao

Korea

20 events to look forward to this October in Busan

Korea Destinations: Festivals in Jinju in October to see, hear and enjoy

Extraordinary gimbap gourmet tour in Korea

Okinawa

Cat lover’s paradise: Tempura, calm beaches, lots of felines on Ojima Island, Okinawa

Japanese vending machines astonish you!

Okinawa's Naha Tug of War coming back with some restrictions Oct. 9

Guam

Feel beat of Guam's traditional Chamorro dancing

Taste of Guam: Island's land crabs a delicacy

Surfing on Guam: Beware of 'localism' off island shores

veterans

VA to open caregiver program to all veterans Saturday

The Department of Veterans Affairs will open eligibility for one of its caregiver programs to veterans starting Saturday.

Vet experience with VA’s health, benefit administrations is missing piece of suicide data, veteran advocate says

sports

Georgia State breaks away late, beats Army 31-14

After Army (1-3) closed within three in the second half, the Panthers scored two late touchdowns.

Air Force quarterback Haaziq Daniels evades Navy defensive lineman Donald Berniard Jr., center, and linebacker Colin Ramos for a short gain in the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, at Air Force Academy, Colo.

Air Force finds struggling run game late, beats Navy 13-10

There will be no DODEA-Europe Division II football champion this season. Instead, the division’s five entries - Aviano, Naples, Vicenza and Sigonella of Italy and Spain-based Rota - will play out the final three weekends of their regular-season schedule in whatever fashion participating squads are able.

With two weekends left in regular season, several teams clinch playoff spots

history

White Beach, Okinawa, March 19, 1971: A sailor paints an anchor on the USS Oklahoma City during the 7th Fleet command ship's three-day visit to Okinawa.

META TAGS: Pacific; Okinawa; Japan; U.S. Navy; USS Oklahoma City;

Getting USS Oklahoma City shipshape, 1971

White Beach, Okinawa, March 19, 1971: A sailor paints an anchor on the USS Oklahoma City during the 7th Fleet command ship’s three-day visit to Okinawa.

Frankfurt, Germany, August, 1955: With his six-year-old brother Ronald watching, seven-year-old Robert Duran, son of Sgt. and Mrs. Raymond Duran, receives a Salk polio vaccine shot from Capt. Anna L. O'Hagen at the 97th General Hospital. Helping out is Sgt. Lester Nelson. The Salk vaccine, approved for release to the general public four months earlier, was a large factor in controlling a disease that struck over 57,000 Americans in 1952. By 1962, with the Sabin vaccine added to the fight, the number of new cases reported was under 1,000.
Want more of Stars and Stripes’ historic content? Subscribe to Stars and Stripes’ historic newspaper archive! We have digitized our 1948-1999 European and Pacific editions, as well as several of our WWII editions and made them available online through https://starsandstripes.newspaperarchive.com/
META TAGS: pandemic, polio eradication, humanitarian aid, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, military medical

Polio shot, 1955

living

Omega Strikers pits teams of 3 against each other in a game where hitting the pucklike Core into the goal is essential.

Odyssey Interactive’s addictive concoction

Omega Strikers is a mishmash of genres that somehow works.

Visitors hike down the lava tube in the Algar do Carvão volcanic cave on Terceira in the Azores.

An active adventure across the Azores

travel

From left, the author, Alyssa Edes and Vasilios Niphoratos re-create the iconic shot from the top of the Sears Tower, now the Willis Tower. MUST CREDIT: Courtesy of Leigh Giangreco.

Could 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' really be done? We found out.

Visitors hike down the lava tube in the Algar do Carvão volcanic cave on Terceira in the Azores.

An active adventure across the Azores

A floating market on one of Bangkok's canals.

Going with the flow on an impulsive trip to Thailand