5 Units Of Military Reserve Miss Recruiting Goals

In a sign of continued stress on the armed forces from operations in Iraq, five of the six military reserve components have failed to meet their recruiting goals for the first four months of the current fiscal year, the military's top officer said on Wednesday. The officer, Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the House Armed Services Committee that only the Marine Corps Reserve had achieved its recruiting quota through January. General Myers said the Army Reserve and the National Guard had been particularly hard hit because the Army was retaining more soldiers on active duty instead of letting them retire and join the reserve. A spokesman for the Army's Recruiting Command, S. Douglas Smith, said the Army Reserve was increasing the number of recruiters to 1,524 by April, from 981 in January. He also said the Reserve was offering new bonuses of $15,000 for recruits with military experience and $10,000 for those without.



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