The Department of Defense announced today its recruiting and retention statistics for the active and reserve components for the month of March.
Active Duty Recruiting.
March Monthly. All services met or exceeded recruiting goals for the month of March (below) and have surpassed goals for fiscal 2008 to date.
| March 2008 | Accessions | Goal | Percent |
| 6,066 | 6,000 | 101 | |
| Navy | 2,909 | 2,909 | 100 |
| Marine Corps | 2,234 | 1,632 | 137 |
| Air Force | 2,093 | 2,093 | 100 |
Active Duty Retention. Army and the Marine Corps retention continued with a strong showing this month; both are exceeding year-to-date goals.
Reserve Forces Recruiting.
March Monthly. All six reserve components met or exceeded their accession goals through March 2008.
| March 2008 | Accessions | Goal | Percent |
| Army National Guard | 6,048 | 6,040 | 100 |
| Army Reserve | 4,304 | 3,543 | 121 |
| Navy Reserve | 865 | 865 | 100 |
| Marine Corps Reserve | 553 | 553 | 100 |
| Air National Guard | 946 | 784 | 121 |
| Air Force Reserve | 720 | 719 | 100 |
Related:
Michael Yon, who embeds with our military in Iraq, also has some words about how things are going, via the Wall Street Journal.
I may well have spent more time embedded with combat units in Iraq than any other journalist alive. I have seen this war – and our part in it – at its brutal worst. And I say the transformation over the last 14 months is little short of miraculous.
The change goes far beyond the statistical decline in casualties or incidents of violence. A young Iraqi translator, wounded in battle and fearing death, asked an American commander to bury his heart in America. Iraqi special forces units took to the streets to track down terrorists who killed American soldiers. The U.S. military is the most respected institution in Iraq, and many Iraqi boys dream of becoming American soldiers. Yes, young Iraqi boys know about "GoArmy.com."
Read the whole thing from someone who is there far more than he is not.
H/T Tanker Brothers for the DoD link above.
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