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.
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.