U.S. Army Faces Recruiting Woes Amid Iraq War

The U.S. Army has fallen behind its recruiting goals, officials said on Thursday, amid the violence of an Iraq war that has now claimed more than 1,500 American lives. "The war is obviously having an effect," said Army Recruiting Command spokesman Douglas Smith. "Our recruiters are having to spend more time with hesitation on the part of potential applicants and their families. People are very alert to the fact of the risks that go along with Army service." The active-duty U.S. Army missed its recruiting target for February by 27.5 percent, and had slipped about 6 percent behind its year-to-date goal for fiscal 2005, which ends Sept. 30, the Army Recruiting Command said. That marked the first time since May 2000 the Army missed a monthly recruiting goal. "It is a matter of concern," said chief Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita, adding the Army had increased enlistment bonuses and boosted by 20 percent its number of recruiters. The Army Reserve and Army National Guard, whose part-time soldiers have shouldered a heavy load in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, also are reporting recruiting shortfalls. The Army Reserve missed its goals in January and February and is behind its recruiting targets for the year. The Army National Guard, which missed its 2004 recruiting target, did not provide February numbers, but said it had shortfalls for the first four months of the current fiscal year through January.  [more]

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