US Navy Coming in 7,000 Sailors Short of 2023 Recruiting Goal
19 September 2023 2024-05-18 13:55US Navy Coming in 7,000 Sailors Short of 2023 Recruiting Goal
The U.S. Navy expects to be 7,000 new sailors short of its annual recruiting goal when the fiscal year ends this month.
At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, acting Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti announced that the service is on track to miss its fiscal year 2023 goal—ending Sept. 30—to bring in 37,700 active duty enlisted sailors. The service also aimed to recruit 2,528 active duty officers, 8,200 reserve enlisted sailors, and 1,940 reserve officers.
Adm. Franchetti’s latest recruiting projection is worse than the 6,000-recruit miss she predicted in April, but not the worst outcome Navy officials have considered this year.
“We started out the year thinking we’d be about 13,000 short,” Adm. Franchetti told Senators on Thursday. “We’re going to be about 7,000 short. We’re doing better month by month than we were last year.” . . .
. . . This year’s military-wide recruiting struggle marks the second year in a row that U.S. military services have struggled to find new candidates.
The Navy hit its recruiting goals for active-duty personnel last year but fell short when it came to recruiting new active and reserve officers and reserve enlisted personnel. The service recorded falling short by 209 active-duty officers, 378 reserve officers, and 1,958 reserve enlisted personnel.
The Air Force met its goal for recruiting new active-duty personnel last year, but acknowledged missing its goals for attracting new Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard troops.
The Army saw the largest recruiting shortfall of the fiscal year 2022, coming in 15,000 recruits short of its 60,000 recruit goal—a 25 percent miss.. . . . (read more on NTD)