Since the war in Iraq, has the rate of military recruits risen or fallen?

The overall size of the military has been increased. That means that both the number of recruits has gotten larger, as well as the retention numbers (re-enlistment of soldiers).

It's not true, by the way, that they've "lowered" standards for enlistment.

The only big change in enlistment standards since the beginning of the war has been that the maximum enlistment age was raised to 42 for people who've not previously served in any branch of the armed forces.

Other than that, enlistment requirements have remained the same. It's actually not that easy to enlist, because there are lots of things that can disqualify you from service or require a waiver (which is not the fastest process). The most common disqualifiers are being overweight, a lack of education (you need a high school diploma as only a small percentage of people with GEDs are accepted each year), law violations, and medical issues such as having been diagnosed with ADD or Asthma.

As others have pointed out, the recruitment rates have gone UP - And re-enlistment rates - ESPECIALLY in combat zones have also gone up. Which should give you some idea whether or not the troopers support what they are doing in Iraq. If they didn't, or didn't want to be there, the units in the combat zones would NOT be consistently setting records for re-enlistment. And they are.

Requirements haven't really been 'lowered' - They've raised the upper age limit (Thank goodness! That allows people like me - 42 - to enlist, which I just did. There are a LOT of folks who want to serve and are now able to. They've also loosened the 'moral' requirements. It used to be that even if you had a very minor misdemeanor conviction, they wouldn't take you. Now they're a bit more flexible, although would still need to file for a waiver and have your case examined).

It's still more difficult to enlist in the Armed Services than it is to get a comparable job in the civilian world.

Orion

Compared to peaceful times (where recruitment is not a priority), then yes. In times of war, recruitment tends to increase in activity, so there are more recruits. During the Vietnam War, a military draft was in place, so the figure for recruits at that time is much higher than the Iraq War, where enlistment is voluntary.

Since the iraq war started, the recruitment rate has increased.

The Active duty Military is now larger than it was in 2003 and so is the National Guard.

I provided a link on 2006 Army recruiting that shows exactly how many enlisted, reenlisted and troops strength.

Risen

numbers of recruits has risen, percentage of re-enlistment is above normal as well. National Guard might be lagging some, not sure .

It all depends on the location your in. If your in a city that has positive influences, you will see the rise in recuits. If negitive results, you will see the decline.

They seem to be meeting their recruiting quotas.

um...it may have seemed to have risen but goals have been slightly lowered (because they werent being met) AND the requirements for enlisting have been lowered.

More people are enlisting now.