February Recruiting Statistics

The active-duty Army made its February recruiting quotas. Here are the details:

• Active Duty: 6,114 accessions, 102 percent of its goal of 6,000. This is the ninth consecutive successful recruiting month for the active component.
• Army National Guard: 6,583 accessions, 101 percent of the 6,536 goal. This is the fifth straight month the Guard has exceeded its monthly goal. It missed every monthly goal in fiscal 2005.
• Army Reserve: 2,279 accessions, 97 percent of its goal of 2,359.

Should anyone still care? Yes. Here's why:

• We know nothing about the quality of the new recruits. The lowest "passing grade" on the test, Category IV, is capped at 4% of the annual total [Oct 2005-Sept. 2006] It was 12% of the Oct 2005 monthly total and since then, the Army refuses to provide this info. Here's the math. 'Not to mention the other requirements, some of which qualify for waivers.
• According to the Washington Post, the Army is meeting its quotas now after having set its goals significantly lower for the first part of the fiscal year [since Oct 2005], banking on dramatic increases in recruiting this summer to meet its annual target of 80,000, before the fiscal year ends September 30.

When will Operation Yellow Elephant become irrelevant?

• Either when the current and future leadership of our governing party fully accepts its national responsibility to set a good example for the rest of us [in other words, Henry Hager and Pierce(d) Bush are both in uniform in Iraq] or
• When our Army has so many well qualified applicants that it can't enlist all of them, and asks Congress to expand its ranks.
• Note that the National Guard is setting a good example of leadership at the state and local level.