ARLINGTON, Va. — The Army missed its monthly recruiting goal in May, the first time it has missed the mark since September of last year.
For May, the Army met 93 percent of its monthly goal with 5,101 recruits, according to the Defense Department.
Asked why the Army came up short, Army spokesman Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty said, “Even Babe Ruth doesn’t get a hit every at bat.”
Hilferty stressed that the Army will meet its recruiting goal for this fiscal year.
With the exception of September, the Army has consistently met or exceeded its recruiting goals for the past two years, said Hilferty.
Even with the September downturn, the Army still finished the fiscal year ahead of its yearly recruiting goal, Hilferty said.
Right now, the Army is about 2,000 recruits ahead of its year-to-date goal, according to the Defense Department.
The U.S. Army Recruiting Command also introduced two new incentives on May 31 including offering recruits up to $51,864 to enlist in more than 45 Military Occupational Specialties, Hilferty said in an e-mail Monday to Stars and Stripes.
The Army has also raised the maximum enlistment bonus for a three-year contract from $10,000 to $25,000 for “priority MOSs only,” while qualified recruits who enlist for two years plus training may be eligible for up to $15,000 Hilferty said.
The other three branches of the service reported that they met or exceeded their active-duty recruiting goals for May, according to the Defense Department.
The Marine Corps led the way, reporting 2,225 recruits for the month, or 134 percent of their monthly goal of 1,655, according to the Defense Department. The Navy and Air Force each met 100 percent of their monthly goals with 2,709 and 2,451 recruits respectively.
On the Reserve component side, the Marine Reserve met 111 percent of its monthly recruiting goal with 1,043 recruits; the Army Reserve met 106 percent of its goal with 3,929 recruits; the Navy Reserve met 105 percent of its goal with 913 recruits; and the Air Force Reserve met 104 percent of its goal with 675 recruits.
The Army National Guard came up short with 5,612 recruits, or 88 percent of its goal; and the Air National Guard met 77 percent of its monthly recruiting goal with 736 recruits.
