Quantity and Quality

Orlando, February 19, 2010—In just the first five months of Fiscal 2010, the Air Force has already met 68 percent of its total recruiting goal for the year, Gen Stephen Lorenz, Air Education and Training Command boss, said Friday at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium. That’s more than 21,000 new recruits toward the 32,000-person goal, he said. Equally impressive are the types of young men and women deciding upon Air Force service, said Lorenz. In fact, 91 percent of this year’s recruits rank in the top three categories that the Pentagon uses to gauge a recruit’s quality. That’s the highest percentage in Air Force recruiting history, he said. And given that only 25 percent of young Americans between ages 17 and 26 are even eligible—the others are ineligible due to factors like criminal records and medical issues—that’s not a trivial fact, he noted.