General: Army struggles to meet goal of 80,000 recruits | WKYC.com: The U.S. Army is having trouble recruiting the 80,000 new soldiers it needs this fiscal year because most people don't meet the requirements to join or are misinformed about the military, according to its chief recruiter.
"The biggest challenge right now is the fact that only three in 10 can actually meet the requirements to actually join the military," said Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Snow, commanding general of U.S. Army Recruiting Command. "We talk about it in terms of the cognitive, the physical and the moral requirements to join the military, and it's tough. We have a very good Army; there's a desire to recruit quality into the Army."
Snow spoke about the issues Tuesday while in the Phoenix area to meet with recruiters and to address a gathering of local community and business leaders about their roles in helping to develop the nation's soldiers.
Snow's command is charged with signing 62,500 recruits for the Army and 15,400 for the Army Reserve in fiscal 2017, which runs Oct. 1, 2016, through Sept. 30, 2017.
Although there are many requirements that must be met in order for an individual to join, Snow said he doesn't believe changing or adjusting them would be beneficial because it would ultimately reduce the quality of the military.
"We don't want to sacrifice quality," Snow said. "If we lower the quality, yes we might be able to make our mission, but that's not good for the organization. The American public has come to expect a qualified Army that can defend the nation. I don't think the American public would like us to lower the quality of those joining the Army if they knew it's going to impact our ability to perform the very functions or nation expects us to do."
