Who’s Up, Who’s Still Down: According to data from January, the Air National Guard did not post the lowest recruiting effort of the reserve components. That position went again to the Navy Reserve, which met only 88 percent of its monthly goal. However, ANG dropped another percentage point from December, reaching just 90 percent of its January goal. The Air Guard retention rate of 98 percent is up slightly from December and is still strong enough to offset the low recruiting number, officials say. All the active components exceeded their monthly recruiting goals.
As the coalition's footprint in Iraq and Syria “diminishes,” international support for institutional changes, such as building a local judiciary and a military that can sustain itself, is necessary to ensure the Islamic State group does not return, the No. 2 commander of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve said.…