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Overall military recruiting -- and retention -- has been on the upswing, Cynthia Smith, a Pentagon spokeswoman, told American Forces Press Service.
"Everything's good to go, all the services are 'green,'" Smith said of the military's recent active-duty recruiting mission achievements.
The Army signed up 5,806 new active-duty soldiers in May, representing 108 percent of its goal. The Navy achieved 100 percent of its active-accession goal in May by signing up 2,622 sailors. The Marines signed up 1,991 active-duty leathernecks to achieve 105 percent of May's goal. And the Air Force inked 2,759 new active-duty airmen and women in May, achieving 100 percent of its recruiting goal for that month.
Also, all the military services have met or exceeded their active-duty re-enlistment goals for the current fiscal year, according to DoD documents. Through May the active Army reached 104 percent of its annual re-enlistment goal; the Navy, 100 percent; the Marine Corps, 102 percent; and the Air Force notched 100 percent.
In addition, five of the six reserve-component branches met or exceeded their recruiting goals in May, according to documents.
In May, the Air National Guard signed up 812 new troops, making 113 percent of the month's goal; the Army National Guard signed up 6,738 new soldiers, achieving 105 percent of the goal; the Army Reserve signed up 3,835 soldiers, achieving 101 percent of the goal; and the Air Force and Marine Corps Reserves signed up 599 and 1,010 troops, respectively, both attaining 100 percent of the month's goal. The Navy Reserve achieved 91 percent of its goal, up from 75 percent in April.
Attrition rates across the reserve components are within acceptable limits and are generally better than last year, according to DoD documents. An exception is the Navy Reserve, which is experiencing higher than normal attrition.