Despite missing its monthly recruiting g
oal for the month of May, the Air National Guard is flush with new recruits, ensuring it is ahead of its overall fiscal year goal. The same goes for the Army National Guard and Army Reserve, which also came in under their goals last month, according to the latest data just released by the Pentagon. Otherwise, the enlisted recruiting and retention picture for the US military remains strong, with all other components reporting 100 percent or better for May, as they did the previous month. So far this fiscal year, recruiting overall has been up; however, USAF’s top personnel officer, Lt. Gen. Richard Newton, said recently that the service likely will face retention challenges next year in certain shortage career fields.
National Guard adjutants general from nearly two dozen states have signed a letter to Congress seeking multiyear funding for the Air Force to purchase between 72 and 100 new fighter jets per year to modernize the total force.The letter, sent to Congress last week, stresses the need for the Air…