According to officials, the Marine Corps, which usually goes into each fiscal year with as much as 50% of its recruiting goal already locked in, has only a bit more than 30%.
Officials spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details on the recruiting totals that have not yet been released.
“In the Army’s most challenging recruiting year since the start of the all-volunteer force, we will only achieve 75% of our fiscal year 22 recruiting goal,” Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said in a statement to The Associated Press.
If recruiting challenges persist, we will draw on the Guard and Reserve to augment active-duty forces, and may need to trim our force structure.”.
Officials said the Army brought in about 45,000 soldiers during the fiscal year that ended Friday.
The large recruiting shortfall was offset a bit by the Army’s ability to exceed its retention goal — keeping 104% of the targeted number of troops in the service.
So far, the Army has discharged a bit more than 1,700 soldiers for refusing to take the mandated vaccine. »
