As we approach the two-year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, here’s a by-the-numbers look at the dramatic impact the war has had on the U.S. military’s recruitment and readiness:
5: Number of years since the U.S. Army last failed to fill its monthly quota of volunteers sent to boot camp, which it did this month.
10: Number of years since the U.S. Marine Corps last missed its monthly recruitment goal, which it has done twice already this year.
11: Number of years since the U.S. National Guard last missed its annual recruitment goal, which it did in 2004.
27: Percent by which the U.S. Army missed its recruitment targets this month.
30: Percent by which the U.S. National Guard missed its recruitment targets in November and December 2004.
41: Drop in African American enlistments over the last four years, by percent.
1: Number of military reserve components that actually met their recruiting goals for the first four months of the current fiscal year; the other five reserve components did not.
3,900: Number of former soldiers belonging to a pool that can be mobilized only in a national emergency recently called up by the U.S. Army.
25: Increase, by percent, in the number of high school dropouts allowed to enlist in the Army thanks to newly lowered recruitment standards.
33: Increase, by percent, in the number of applicants who received the lowest acceptable scores on a service aptitude test now allowed to enlist in the Army thanks to newly lowered recruitment standards, by percent.
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