US Army seen reaching recruiting goal despite war

US Army seen reaching recruiting goal despite war
By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army, which fell short in recruiting last year, made its 14th straight monthly goal in July and is expected to hit its 2006 target despite the Iraq war making recruiting harder, officials said on Thursday.

Jeff Spara, in charge of Army recruiting policy, denied the Army has been making its recruiting goals by taking lower-quality volunteers who previously might have been rejected, as some experts contend.

"It looks very good right now," Spara said of the active-duty Army reaching its goal of 80,000 new soldiers in fiscal 2006, which ends September 30. It fell about 7,000 recruits short of the same numerical goal in fiscal 2005.

Spara said it was "too close to call" whether the Army's part-time components, the National Guard and Reserve, will reach their 2006 targets. Both missed their July quotas and fell short last year.

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