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Air Force’s Active Duty component met its numerical recruiting accession goals through April, the seventh month of Fiscal 2012, according to the Pentagon’s newest recruiting data, released on May 22. The Active Duty force brought in 16,309 accessions, exactly matching its fiscal-year-to-date goal. The Air National Guard attracted 4,893 new recruits through April, 14 more than its target. Rounding out the Total Force, the Air Force Reserve met its fiscal-year-to-date goal by accepting 5,013 new accessions, show the Defense Department’s figures. All of the other services’ Active Duty forces met or exceeded their year-to-date targets. Across their reserve components, only the Army National Guard did not meet or exceed its recruiting goal through April. (See also our coverage of March’s recruiting numbers.)
In a show force over the Pacific, the U.S. conducted separate bilateral exercises with South Korea and Japan in response to North Korea’s May 24 ballistic missile test. The North’s test reportedly included an intercontinental ballistic missile, launched while President Joe Biden flew home from the region. Also on May…