Military recruiting, retention remain strong

  • Published
DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga. --  A bumper crop of new high school graduates who joined the military in June helped the Defense Department continue its strong recruiting and retention streak.

All four services met or exceeded their fiscal-year-to-date goals for active-duty accessions through June 30, along with five of the six reserve components, officials announced July 25.

Fiscal year 2011 began Oct. 1 and ends Sept. 30.

Locally, the Dobbins recruiting team, led by Senior Master Sgt. Bryan Schexnayder, is on track to achieving its FY11 goal with over 90% accounted for in new accessions, said Schexnayder.

"Our issue isn't with finding new recruits," said Schexnayder. "The issue is finding them jobs, as many are waitlisted until positions open up."

Solid recruiting continued through all of the reserve components. The Army Reserve achieved 110 percent of its goal for the first nine months of fiscal 2011, with 22,892 accessions. The Marine Corps Reserve brought on 7,753 new Marines, 107 percent of its goal. The Navy Reserve, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard all met their goals, recruiting 6,257, 6,899 and 5,179 members, respectively.

While recruiting the most new members of the reserve components -- 38,350 this fiscal year through June -- the Army National Guard fell 2 percent below its goal of 39,108.