On the Eve of a Significant Nationwide Army Recruiter Stand-Down

National Priorities Project (NPP) finds significant gap in Army's 2008 quantity and quality goals. Online Tool Allows the Public to Analyze Army Data by State, County, Zip Code, Education Level, "Quality of Recruit"

American soldiers in Iraq; summer of 2008 Salem-News.com photo by Tim King

(NORTHAMPTON, Mass.) - A new NPP analysis highlights a significant gap in the Army's 2008 quantity and quality goals. Using census material, combined with data on 2008 Army enlistment obtained through a Freedom of Information Act, NPP research also uncovers a continued trend of disproportionate recruits from southern states.

This quantity and quality-focused release will be followed by one on February 18, 2009 highlighting neighborhood income and race.

This work is a result of an expanded NPP initiative, which now includes a database of 2004-2008 military recruitment numbers broken down by zip code, county and state. A snapshot analysis and overview of current military recruitment data, which includes a ranking of counties by recruits per thousand youth, charts and tables on a particular county, zip code or state is available at nationalpriorities.org.

"Analysts project a $60 billion increase in the 2010 defense budget, largely tied to increasing troop levels. This increase does not include a six month supplemental funding request to pay for the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which is expected to approach, if not exceed $70 billion," notes Suzanne Smith, Research Director for National Priorities Project.

"These budget figures, combined with a call for increased troop numbers, are striking in light of a report recently issued by a Pentagon advisory group which noted that 'rising costs of military personnel, their healthcare and overhead' exacerbated the problem of an 'unsustainable' Defense Department budget in tough economic times."

NPP's new data shows:

While the army claims 80,517 new army recruits this year, surpassing its goal of 80,000, in actuality, its figures reflect the number of individuals with whom they have some form of – often non-binding – contract. The number of accessions, or actual recruits who reported for duty in 2008, was 69,357.

The percent of recruits with regular high school diplomas, at 74% is 16 percentage points below the army's goal of 90%. This is the fourth year running that the army has missed its "quality" goal.

The highest recruitment rates – defined as the number of recruits per thousand of 15-24 year-old population – were found in the south with Texas, Florida and Georgia ranking in the top five states.

Jo Comerford, NPP's Executive Director adds, "Four years of missed recruiting quantity and quality goals, and recent news of the investigation of four stress-related suicides in the Houston Recruiting Battalion since 2005, raise important questions which must be tackled. Not only are education rates down but evidence shows increases in physical and felony waivers, the latter having doubled from 2006 to 2007"

Comerford continued; "It stands to reason that we must ask whether the Army has exhausted its potential supply of new quality recruits. Its announced intent to increase its base by 65,000 new recruits, should signal a clarion call for a new look at the impact – especially on army personnel – of an ever-expanding military. A new approach to national security is what is needed. Clearly, we are being called to a new strategy – for this new day."

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The National Priorities Project (NPP) is a 501(c)(3) research organization that analyzes and clarifies federal data so that people can understand and influence how their tax dollars are spent. Located in Northampton, MA, since 1983, NPP focuses on the impact of federal spending and other policies at the national, state, congressional district and local levels. For more information, go to http://nationalpriorities.org.

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