The U.S. Navy missed its recruitment goal for this fiscal year, according to acting Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti. Announced on Tuesday, the Navy recruitment fell short by 7,000 people in their goal of 37,700 active-duty enlisted sailors.

Navy Recruitment Goals Unmet

In the announcement from the Navy, as of September 30th 2023, there were 30,236 active duty Sailor and 6,342 reserve Sailors. Although the goals were unmet, the Navy mentioned the projected goal was improved by 6,000 Sailors than the previous year. Related read: Military Recruitment Marketing: Using Video Games To Recruit Troops

Forecasted Shortfalls

This is the second year in a row that the Navy has missed their recruitment goal. While the number still ran short, the Navy was expecting worst. The Navy recruitment numbers were predicted to fall as Franchetti said, “We started out the year thinking we’d be about 13,000 short. In a positive light, we’re going to be about 7,000 short. We’re doing better month by month than we were last year."

Why Is This Happening?

The Navy is not the only branch of the military that has low recruitment. The Army also fell short by 10,000 Soldiers this year. The year before, they missed their goal by 15,000 Soldiers. The Pentagon released data in 2022 explaining that fewer Americans are qualified to serve due to multiple reasons ranging from obesity to simply not wanting to serve. Reasons such as these may affect their ability to participate in Navy trainings. Moreover, the Defense Department blamed the competitive job market, and that most of the benefits the military offered companies offer too.

Innovative Solutions

The branch has taken a number of steps to improve the Navy recruitment process all around. Furthermore, the office is commending the Navy's solutions. So, just how did they attract new recruits? One of the first steps was to increase the bonuses for the Navy salary. Recruits are now receiving $35,000 to ship out the door. According to the Navy recruit website, they are also offered 140K to leave for boot camp before December 2023.Not only this, but they also raised the maximum age requirement from 39 to 41. The branch even lowered the exam entry requirements and are re-evaluating individual cases that previously barred a person from entering such as tattoos or positive drug/alcohol tests. Suggested read: Navy Birthday - A Celebration 248 Years in the Making

Acknowledging Recruiters’ Efforts

The Navy recruitment efforts have been praised as they “closed the gap by 40%.” Through consistent efforts, recruiters are halving the drop in Sailors. The Navy expressed admiration for the recruiters stating, “Our talented recruiters made tremendous efforts in FY23 resulting in 6,000 more contracted future Sailors than the previous year.”They confirmed that the recruiting programs implemented in FY23 will carry over into FY24, with more opportunities to recruit for next year. The outreach and engagement programs will increase its education and awareness about the Navy across the nation.

Future Navy Recruitment Goals

Although Navy recruitment failed to meet the goals last year, they have set the bar even higher in 2024. Now, they are aiming for 40,600 Sailors, 2,807 active-duty officers, 7,629 reserve Sailors and 1,785 reserve officers.Read next: Fat Leonard is the $35 Million Navy Corruption Scandal That Just Won't Die