WASHINGTON - The Army's top general told Congress yesterday the Army is at "serious risk" of not making its recruiting goals for the year, as military officials pressed lawmakers for increased bonuses to attract new soldiers.
One Pentagon official, who requested anonymity, said the Army's hierarchy realizes it will not make the goal of 80,000 recruits this year and the only question is how many thousands short it will be. The Army is about 7,800 recruits short now, with three months left in the recruiting year.
The last time the service failed to meet its recruiting number was in 1999.
"The Army's [recruitment mission] of 80,000 is at serious risk, and recruiting will remain challenging for the remainder of 2005 and well into the future," Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, the Army's chief of staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Schoomaker and other officials acknowledged that the war in Iraq has hampered recruitment, as parents, coaches and teachers persuade the young to avoid the military.
Still, the general said, "I believe this generation wants to serve."
Schoomaker also blamed the failure to meet manpower goals, in part, on a decision by the Pentagon to increase the overall size of the Army by 30,000 soldiers over the next several years.
The grim recruiting outlook comes despite the fact the Army made its monthly sign-up goals in June for the first time since January, bringing in about 6,150 recruits, versus a goal of 5,650. The Army Reserve also made its goal in June, exceeding the target of 3,610 by about 40 soldiers.
The Army National Guard did not meet its monthly goal, according to Pentagon officials.
In an effort to meet its goals, the Army is accepting more recruits who score poorly on the military's aptitude test. These recruits, known as Category 4, account for about 1.98 percent of total recruits, compared with just 0.60 percent last year.
That is the highest percentage in this category since 2001, when the Army also was struggling to meet its recruiting goals. Officials have said they will not go above a self-imposed 2 percent ceiling for the category, though Pentagon rules allow up to 4 percent.
Schoomaker said 2006 "may be the toughest recruiting environment ever." The Army has had to place nearly every recruit it can get into its monthly quotas rather than holding them in the Delayed Entry Program, which can be used to cover shortfalls in winter, when recruiting is hard.
