All four services met or exceeded their recruiting goals for the month of December, with the Army bringing in 161 more recruits than its goal of 700. The Air Force met its goal of 2,330. Retention also remains largely on track. On the reserve front, only the Navy Reserve fell short, making only 80 percent of its goal of 679. The Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve each got 105 percent. So far, Fiscal 2007 is proving a strong recruiting year for the active and reserve Air Force, with good results in both October and November.
Amid a high-profile recruiting crisis, Air Force leaders and experts have increasingly noted the challenging long-term trends the service will face in enticing young Americans to sign up—decreasing eligibility to serve, less propensity to do so, and less familiarity with the military. But while those same leaders say there’s no “silver…