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WASHINGTON -- The Army, which missed its recruiting goal for 2005 by a wide margin, got off to a good start in the new budget year by exceeding its October targets for the active-duty Army as well as the National Guard and Reserve.

The other military services also met their goals for active-duty enlistments in October, the first month of the budget year. The Air National Guard got barely half the recruits it wanted and the Navy Reserve met 89 percent of its goal.

The Army said it signed up 4,925 for active duty, or 105 percent of its goal. It was the fifth straight month of meeting or exceeding its goal, following a severe slump last spring that prevented the Army from reaching its full-year goal for 2005.

The Army ended the budget year Sept. 30 with an 8 percent shortfall _ the first since 1999 and the largest in more than two decades.

Although the Army met its October goal, the target was about one-third lower than in October 2004 - 4,700 compared with 6,935 - and the actual number of recruits was lower - 4,925 this October compared with 6,952 a year earlier. The full-year target for 2006 is the same as 2005 - 80,000 recruits - so the Army will have to do considerably better in the months ahead if it hopes to reach the full-year goal.

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The Army National Guard signed up 102 percent of its October goal and the Army Reserve got 103 percent.

Re-enlistments, which were strong last year while recruiting slipped, got off to a weaker start in October. The active Army re-enlisted 91 percent of its goal for the month; the National Guard and Reserve both got 98 percent.

An Army spokesman, Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, said re-enlistments typically are lower in the early part of the budget year. In October 2004, for example, the Army got only 83 percent of its goal but it finished the budget year with more than 100 percent.

© 2005 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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