The military missed its overall recruiting goals by 41,000 last fiscal year — the steepest shortfall since the end of the draft more than 50 years ago.
Army leaders say things are turning around. The Navy, however, is still falling short of its goals.
Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth told lawmakers Tuesday that the service is “fundamentally transforming” its recruiting enterprise to better compete against civilian employers in a 21st-century job market. While she didn’t want to appear overconfident, Ms. Wormuth told the House Armed Services Committee that the Army is on track to meet its recruiting goals this year.
The Army eliminated about 24,000 slots that hadn’t been filled to prevent “hollow” units in the service. But Ms. Wormuth said they still plan to increase the Army’s end strength from 450,000 active duty soldiers to 470,000 by the 2029 fiscal year.
“To meet that goal, we are working around the clock to overcome our recruiting challenges,” Ms. Wormuth told lawmakers. “I’m pleased to say that we are making very solid progress this year.”
The Army set a goal of recruiting 55,000 new soldiers this year and putting another 5,000 into the service’s Delayed Entry Program, which lets soldiers join the Army now but ship out at a later date.
“We still have six months to go in this fiscal year so I don’t want to be overconfident,” Ms. Wormuth said of the recruiting outlook. “But I think we feel that we have a good shot at making that goal this year, which I think would be very, very important.”
The Army also sent about 55,000 recruits to basic training in the 2023 fiscal year, but that was about 10,000 short of its goal of 65,000. In 2022, the Army shipped fewer than 45,000 new soldiers to boot camp, about 15,000 short of its goal.
In beginning to turn things around, Ms. Wormouth credited the Army’s Future Soldier Preparatory Course. That program helps new soldiers overcome academic and physical fitness barriers to military service. The pilot program began in August 2022 at Fort Jackson, S.C., but has now expanded to Fort Moore, Georgia.
“We continue to see a lot of interest in that effort,” Ms. Wormuth said. “We’re also selecting our recruiters differently. We’re picking soldiers that are a little bit more inclined to be good salespeople for the United States Army.”
The Army has begun adding additional medical personnel to local Military Entrance Processing Stations, which determine if the future soldier can start boot camp. That way, the recruits will be able to deal with any potential medical waiver issue that could delay military service, officials said.
New soldiers are less concerned about their paycheck and more interested in what their Army job may be or where they may be stationed, Army officials said.
“Young Americans basically right now see the pay as relatively competitive. That’s partly because (Congress) passed an over 5% pay increase last year and there’s a budget request for another pay increase this year,” Ms. Wormuth said. “Soldiers are not indicating (pay) is a huge concern, at least the folks who are looking at joining the Army.”
The Air Force also is on track to meet its upcoming recruiting goals. Brig. Gen. Christopher Amrhein, head of the Air Force Recruiting Service, said they have hit the mark every month since October 2023 when the new fiscal year began.
“Looking ahead to the second half of fiscal 2024, we continue to remain cautiously optimistic,” Brig. Gen. Amrhein said last week at the Air and Space Forces Association’s Warfare Symposium. “We continue to make the goal for Air Force and Space Force, and we are very close to the Air Force Reserve requirement.”
The Air Force has relaxed regulations about tattoos, beefed up its bonus program for recruits, and expanded its efforts to bring lawful permanent residents into the military.
The Navy said their current recruiting numbers are better than last year. But the service still expects to fall about 6,700 sailors short of its 40,600 goal. The recruiting shortfalls are having a tangible impact. Adm. Lisa Franchetti, chief of naval operations, told Congress last week that the Navy is about 18,000 short of the number of sailors needed for operations at sea and about 4,000 for shore-based jobs.
“We continue to face challenges in the current and forecasted economic environment and tough labor market,” Vice Adm. Rich Cheeseman, head of Navy personnel, told the Associated Press. “The Navy continues to explore and evaluate new methods for attracting qualified, motivated, and capable applicants.”
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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