Army misses May, June, recruiting goals

WASHINGTON, July 10 (UPI) -- Rising casualties in Iraq and a strong economy at home prevented the U.S. Army from meeting its recruiting goals in May and June, said Pentagon officials.

The Army was more than 1,000 active duty recruits short of its June goal of 8,400, a Pentagon official told The New York Times in an article published Tuesday.

In May, the Army was 400 enlistees short of its goal of 5,500. May was the first time in two years that the active force failed to meet its monthly target, the Times reported.

The fall off in recruits coincided with rising casualties in Iraq, where 331 U.S. soldiers were killed from April to June, the highest three-month death toll of the war.

Pentagon officials said the Army was on track to meet its 2007 target of 80,000 recruits because recruiting exceeded goals for several months earlier this year, the Times said.