All branches of the service, as well as their respective Guard and Reserve components, met or exceeded recruiting numbers for the period between Oct. 1, 2008 and Sept. 30, 2009. For the active Army, that meant 70,045 accessions in that time period -- or 108 percent of its goal of 65,000 new Soldiers.
The Army National Guard met 100-percent of its goal, the Army Reserve exceeded its goal, achieving 105 percent.
The “quality” component of last year’s recruiting success refers to both the education level of new recruits and their performance on the Armed Forces Qualification Test, a subset of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or ASVAB.
The Department of Defense set a benchmark for services, stating that 90 percent or greater of new recruits should have a high-school diploma. Last year, some 95 percent of Army active-duty recruits had a high-school diploma or greater. The reserve components of the Army also exceeded that standard.
Additionally, in FY 2009, 66 percent of new Soldiers in the Army scored at the 50th percentile or higher on the AFQT -- the DOD benchmark being 60 percent. Again, both reserve components, like the active Army, exceeded that goal.
While the economic downturn has contributed to recruiting numbers, Maj. Gen. Donald M. Campbell Jr., commander, Army Recruiting Command, also said having the right number of recruiters -- across all components -- contributed to Army success in FY 2009.
“I think the most important thing that helps us with success -- whether you’re talking money, resources, or advertising –- is having the right number of recruiters, Soldiers, on the ground,” he said. “That’s what it really comes down to.”