Guard misses January recruiting target - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Guard misses January recruiting target

The Army National Guard did not meet its recruiting goal in January, while the active Army and Army Reserve both exceeded their goals for the month, according to information released Tuesday by the Defense Department and Army Recruiting Command.

The Guard recruited 4,913 new soldiers in January, 88 percent of its goal of 5,577. It is at 114 percent of its year-to-date goal of 20,691, and its goal for the year is 65,000.

There is a reason the Guard did not exceed its goal for January, spokesman Randy Noller told Army Times.

The Guard has an authorized end-strength of 358,200, and its actual end-strength is 366,009, 102 percent of the authorized figure, Noller said.

“With this in mind, our recruiting and retention division has slowed down, improved the quality of enlistments, and is watching [its end-strength],” he said. “The month-to-month recruiting goal is designed to meet the [authorized] end-strength requirements, which we are obviously doing.”

The active Army continued its recruiting success, with 9,658 new soldiers, 107 percent of its goal of 9,000. The Army has achieved 106 percent of its year-to-date goal of 20,300, with 21,446 new soldiers so far this fiscal year. The annual goal for the Army is 78,000.

The Army Reserve recruited 2,158 people in January, 102 percent of its goal of 2,110. So far this year, 9,042 new soldiers have joined the Army Reserve, 113 percent of the year-to-date goal of 8,030. The Reserve’s goal for 2009 is 26,500.