ashington, D.C. (AHN) - Each of the branches of the United States armed forces have met or exceeded their active-duty recruiting goals for the 13th consecutive month.
At the Pentagon, Bryan Whitman, deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, confirms, "Active-duty recruiting numbers, both for June and for the first nine months of fiscal 2006, continued to exceed 100 percent of goal across the board."
Furthermore, the quality of recruits remains high, with "more than 90 percent of all recruits have high school diplomas and nearly two-thirds have scored in the top 50 percent of ASVAB categories."
Whitman calls reports that the U.S. has lowered its recruiting standards in order to keep up numbers as the War on Terror wages on, a "myth," adding, "The quality standards for the military are very high."
According to the Pentagon, in June, the Army recruited more than 8,700 soldiers, 102 percent of its goal; the Marine Corps signed on more than 4,300 Marines, 105 percent of its goal; the Navy met its goal of recruiting more than 3,900 sailors; and the Air Force exceeded its goal by 1 percent, bringing in more than 2,500 airmen. |