The wrong career choice for many Americans, that is.
The Army fell short of its recruiting goal for May, its first significant slip in two years.
[snip]
With an array of special incentives for attracting recruits, the Army managed to recover from a 2005 recruiting slump, but the impact of the Iraq war and the strong domestic economy have made it difficult to attract enlistees.
The Army and Marine Corps have suffered the bulk of casualties in Iraq.
The pace of recruiting is even more important now that Defense Secretary Robert Gates has set a goal of increasing the size of the active-duty Army by 65,000 to a total of 547,000 within five years. The increase is intended to ease some of the strain on the Army from its heavy commitments in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
[snip]
Statistics released Monday showed that in May the Army signed up 5,101 new recruits, short of its goal of 5,500, although it remains on track to meet its goal of 80,000 for the full year, which runs from Oct. 1, 2006 to Sept. 30, 2007.
[snip]
The Army National Guard met only 88 percent of its goal and the Air National Guard met 77 percent of its goal.