The Pentagon released recruiting stats for the month of November, showing active duty recruiting up across the board. In a turn about, though, the Air Force did less well than the others, achieving 101 percent of its goal while the Army and Marine Corps made 105 percent and Navy 102 percent. The picture gets ugly when one sees that the Air National Guard only achieved 71 percent—the lowest of all reserve components. Air Force Reserve Command made 100 percent of its goal, and the Army Guard reached 110 percent. Saving ANG again is a strong retention rate—101 percent.
A provision in the fiscal 2025 defense policy bill will require the Defense Department to include the military occupational specialty of service members who die by suicide in its annual report on suicide deaths, though it remains to be seen how much data the department will actually disclose.