Army recruiting down after 3,612 dead soldiers in Iraq

July 9, 2007

Washington, DC - With 3,612 American Soldiers dead in Iraq, the U.S. Army has missed its monthly recruiting goal for active duty troops for the second month in a row.

With 3,612 American Soldiers dead in Iraq, the U.S. Army has missed its monthly recruiting goal for active duty troops for the second month in a row.

The Army is falling short by about 1,000 new recruits for the month of June, Pentagon officials said Monday.

The shortfall comes at a critical time for the Army as it heads into the fruitful summer recruiting months and as the service continues to be stretched thin as it's used as the primary fighting force in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The recruiting numbers in May, short by about 400, marked the first time in 23 months the Army missed a monthly recruiting goal, according to Army statistics.

The monthly recruiting numbers for the active duty Army in May was 5,101. The goal was 5,500, according to Army officials. The monthly goal for June was similar to May's.