The Marine Corps for the second straight month in February missed its goal for signing up new recruits, the Marines said on Wednesday, in another sign of the Iraq war's effect on military recruiting. "It is a challenging recruiting environment right now," said Maj. David Griesmer, spokesman for the Marine Corps Recruiting Command. For the first time in more than a decade, the Marines in January fell short of their monthly goal for new recruits signing enlistment contracts to begin serving within a year. The Marines missed their monthly goal again in February by more than 6 percent, Griesmer said. In February, Marines signed up 2,772 of a target of 2,964 (93.5 percent). Some of them will join a total force of 177,000. But Griesmer noted that in both months, the Marines reached their goals for new recruits actually entering boot camp. So a higher percentage of those who promised to enlist followed through and entered the Corps. In year-to-date figures for the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, the Marines were 1 percent behind their goal for signing up new recruits and 2 percent ahead in shipping new recruits into boot camp. The recruiting shortfalls come as Marines play an integral role in military operations in Iraq, which have caused a steady stream of combat deaths. Marines have performed some of the most dangerous and grueling tasks in the guerrilla war, for example spearheading the November offensive in Fallujah. [more]