Just as they did in Fiscal 2010, the Air Force active duty force met is Fiscal 2011 recruiting goals, while USAF’s two reserve components exceeded theirs, according to the Defense Department’s year-end statistics. The active duty component brought in 28,518 accessions in Fiscal 2011, three more than its goal of 28,515 (but still considered 100 percent). The Air National Guard accepted 7,182 new recruits, 550 more than its target. And, the Air Force Reserve surpassed its objective by 238 accessions, attracting 9,069 recruits. Compared to the Fiscal 2010 totals, both the active duty and Air Guard numbers were slightly up, while the Reserve number was down. Across the Defense Department, only the Army National Guard did not meet or exceed its recruiting objective in Fiscal 2011, according to DOD. But that was intentional in order to stay within its authorized end strength. (See also our previous recruiting entry.)
The Defense Innovation Board adopted a series of new recommendations and praised the Air Force for its big bets on emerging technology in recent years that seem primed to help new entrants to the defense market bridge the so-called valley of death between initial investment and actual production contracts.