[continued from previous message]   
      
   that it had reached its target months ahead of schedule.   
      
   After lowering its goals – as the Army did – during the recruiting   
   slump, the Air Force reversed course and increased its recruiting goals   
   by 20% for 2025. Though it later dialed that goal back to an 11%   
   increase, the Air Force met that goal three months ahead of schedule.   
   The Space Force increased its recruiting goals as well.   
      
   Though it didn’t increase its recruiting goals, the Navy has already met   
   its targets for the year, too. So has the Marine Corps.   
      
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   Analysts are eyeing whether the recruitment and retention of women and   
   minority forces will be affected by the Trump administration’s movement   
   away from diversity, equity, and inclusion measures. Women constitute   
   almost 18% of active-duty forces, while Black and Hispanic troops,   
   respectively, make up about 20% and 18% of the force.   
      
   How are the services reaching out to young people?   
   Air Force officials have noted the success of a 2023 program that offers   
   foreign-born recruits an accelerated path to citizenship. Recruits can   
   complete paperwork and take citizenship tests immediately upon entering   
   basic training. By the time they graduate 7 1/2 weeks later, they can be   
   sworn in as citizens.   
      
      
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   Marine Corps recruiters similarly tout an immigration benefit that   
   grants temporary legal status and protection from deportation to   
   unauthorized immigrants who are family members of U.S. citizens serving   
   in the military. However, amid the Trump administration’s immigration   
   crackdown, the Marine Corps reportedly told its recruiters to stop   
   promoting this program, known as parole in place, earlier this summer.   
      
   Navy leaders have also created new career specialties, such as robotics,   
   which they say are appealing to young people. The service has also been   
   trying to improve sailors’ quality of life through initiatives that   
   include everything from 24/7 access to gyms to better parking.   
      
   “There has been an explosion in retention, which hasn’t gotten a lot of   
   attention. It’s been historically high in all the services,” in large   
   part because of the generous military benefits, Dr. Asch says. These   
   include housing allowances, college tuition for family members, and   
   medical care.   
      
   At the same time, the Pentagon is launching social media campaigns to   
   target “parents, educators, and other relevant adult influencers to   
   build advocacy for military service.” It is also developing experimental   
   “prospecting” tools that use artificial intelligence “to enhance   
   recruiter efficiency.”   
      
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   The Defense Department’s new Recruitment Task Force is bringing together   
   data analysts, lawyers, and recruiters working in the field. Their   
   mission: to provide insights “that will outlast this president,” Mr.   
   Parnell said, “and be a tool subsequent presidents and secretaries can   
   use.”   
      
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   The task force plans to tackle, among other things, the backlog of   
   medical waivers that military doctors can grant for conditions like   
   childhood asthma and gestational diabetes, a diagnosis given to some 10%   
   of pregnant women in the United States.   
      
   The waivers currently take an average of six months to process across   
   the services, said Mr. Parnell, who is co-chairing the task force. “And   
   by that time [recruits] have got another job.”   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)