Reply #94: Need to check those facts - it has never been harder to enlist [View All]

[hack89]

with a bad economy and a downsizing force, the military has more applicants they can handle.

Here are the official stats:

Recruiting - Year to Date. All four active services met or exceeded their numerical accession goals for fiscal year-to-date 2011 through October.

Army – 6,643 accessions, with a goal of 6,425; 103 percent
Navy – 2,291 accessions, with a goal of 2,291; 100 percent
Marine Corps – 2,457 accessions, with a goal of 2,448; 100 percent
Air Force – 1,511 accessions, with a goal of 1,511; 100 percent

http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=14087

Here, for example, is an article discussing how hard it will be for gay soldiers kicked out of the military due to DADT to rejoin:

Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal: Gay Military Members Have Tough Time Returning To Service

All military branches are at full capacity as people flock to the military for jobs or choose to stay in longer. With budget tightening and the expectation the Afghanistan war is winding down, the branches plan to trim their numbers.

The Army is looking to cut 22,000 starting in October after getting a temporary surge in troops in 2009, while the Marine Corps plans to slim down from 202,000 down to 186,000 in the next few years.

The Navy will cut 3,000 officers in the next few months because the promotion lines are so clogged "there is no place for anybody to go," Navy Adm. Gary Roughead, the chief of naval operations, told The Associated Press. The Air Force at the same time is going to start letting go several hundred of its 9,000 officers

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/13/dont-ask-dont-tell-repeal_n_926305.html