{"id":12471,"date":"2021-10-20T17:13:48","date_gmt":"2021-10-20T17:13:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/10\/20\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:43:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:43:23","slug":"army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/10\/20\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\/","title":{"rendered":"Army hits end-strength goals through high retention, lower basic training attrition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army\u2019s two largest components \u2014 the active-duty force and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/home\/left-column\/2020\/12\/13\/2020-saw-the-guard-used-the-most-since-world-war-ii-is-a-retention-crisis-looming\/\" target=\"_blank\">Army National Guard<\/a> \u2014 successfully exceeded their end strength goals for fiscal 2021, service officials said in a Wednesday news release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Regular Army had 486,490 troops as of Sept. 31, which beat its goal of 485,900. The Army National Guard did the same, with 337,525 troops against a target of 336,500.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2021\/07\/09\/short-on-expertise-army-guard-reserve-want-to-snag-retired-warrants\/\" target=\"_blank\">Army Reserve<\/a> fell thousands short of its goal, though. The service\u2019s smallest component had only 184,358 troops \u2014 significantly less than its target strength of 189,900.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the release, senior Army officials credited the active-duty force\u2019s success to high retention rates and decreased attrition in basic combat training. Maintaining end strength is a matter of balancing recruiting and retention with attrition, the release explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis year the Army also exceeded its retention goal by 1,852 Soldiers,\u201d said Sgt. Maj. Mark Clark, the Army\u2019s senior enlisted advisor for personnel. \u201cOverall, the Army retained 58,141 Soldiers who were scheduled to transition and an additional 6,618 Soldiers elected to transition into the Army Reserve or Army National Guard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lt. Gen. Gary Brito, the Army\u2019s deputy chief of staff for personnel, pointed to ongoing efforts to improve talent management and quality of life across the Army as one engine of the service\u2019s success.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2020\/10\/22\/two-star-wants-to-ease-the-civilian-to-soldier-transition-during-army-basic-training\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ARM-basic-training-new-web.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Two-star wants to ease the civilian-to-soldier transition during Army basic training<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Basic training is &quot;not getting softer,&quot; Maj. Gen. Lonnie G. Hibbard declared.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Army is a learning organization that evolves constantly to adapt to the changing environment, and that includes how we fight for and retain talented Soldiers,\u201d Brito said. \u201cThe emphasis from our leaders at all echelons to meet the needs of our people and care for our Soldiers and our families has made the Army a competitive organization for more people \u2014 talented people \u2014 to join our team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Changes to BCT also reduced attrition and ensured that more new recruits make it into the force, according to the release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ten-week program had to adjust to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2020\/10\/22\/two-star-wants-to-ease-the-civilian-to-soldier-transition-during-army-basic-training\/\" target=\"_blank\">include a two-week precautionary quarantine period<\/a> at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading the Army to shift certain training modules like sexual assault and harassment prevention to those first two weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The change has stuck, even as the COVID-19 vaccines permit the Army\u2019s entry training to return to normal operations, because it offers a more eased entry into Army life that helps recruits adjust better to the training program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The service has also \u201cimproved the ratio of drill instructors to trainees during basic training,\u201d the release added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Training and Doctrine Command\u2019s commander, Gen. Paul Funk, who oversees basic training, explained the rationale for the moves in an Oct. 11 press conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey come to us with 18 years in whatever environment they come from,\u201d Funk said. \u201cBy inculcating them early and often with the [sexual assault and harassment prevention] mindset, and our values&#8230;we\u2019re going to change the culture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because of the recent changes, the attrition rate during BCT has reduced from 10.8 percent in fiscal 2020 to 5.5 percent in fiscal 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis serves to educate new recruits on the conduct and professionalism expected within the organization at the very beginning of their basic training rather than near the end,\u201d the release explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The service may face an uphill battle to hit its end strength goals in fiscal 2022, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Army leadership plans to involuntarily discharge troops who refuse the COVID-19 vaccine, and it has decreased its number of recruiters in an effort to keep more staff sergeants with their units, according to Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Army credits its talent management initiatives and changes to basic training with helping it meet its strength goals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":28543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":70,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news","middle-column","home"],"primary_category":"your-military"}}},"categories":[100,23,92,12,25,70],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3376],"class_list":["post-12471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-left-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-army"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"6X4QM65TGBBUFBAWQKB7KATTQE","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-army\/2021\/10\/20\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Army hits end-strength goals through high retention, lower basic training attrition - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Army credits its talent management initiatives and changes to basic training with helping it meet its strength goals.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Army hits end-strength goals through high retention, lower basic training attrition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Army credits its talent management initiatives and changes to basic training with helping it meet its strength goals.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/10\/20\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Army Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-20T17:13:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T01:43:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Davis Winkie\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Davis Winkie\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/20\\\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/20\\\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Army hits end-strength goals through high retention, lower basic training attrition\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2021-10-20T17:13:48+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T01:43:23+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/20\\\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 569,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/20\\\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/6551153.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Home\",\n\t                \"Left Column\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Your Army\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/20\\\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/20\\\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/20\\\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Army hits end-strength goals through high retention, lower basic training attrition - Army Times\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/20\\\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/20\\\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/6551153.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2021-10-20T17:13:48+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T01:43:23+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"The Army credits its talent management initiatives and changes to basic training with helping it meet its strength goals.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/20\\\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/20\\\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/20\\\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/6551153.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/6551153.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/20\\\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Your Army\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"your-army\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Army hits end-strength goals through high retention, lower basic training attrition\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Army Times\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Independent News For Soldiers | Army Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Army Times\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/army-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/army-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Army Times\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Army hits end-strength goals through high retention, lower basic training attrition - Army Times","description":"The Army credits its talent management initiatives and changes to basic training with helping it meet its strength goals.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Army hits end-strength goals through high retention, lower basic training attrition","og_description":"The Army credits its talent management initiatives and changes to basic training with helping it meet its strength goals.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/10\/20\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\/","og_site_name":"Army Times","article_published_time":"2021-10-20T17:13:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T01:43:23+00:00","author":"Davis Winkie","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Davis Winkie","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/10\/20\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/10\/20\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Army hits end-strength goals through high retention, lower basic training attrition","datePublished":"2021-10-20T17:13:48+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T01:43:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/10\/20\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\/"},"wordCount":569,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/10\/20\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6551153.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Home","Left Column","News","Newsletters","Your Army"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/10\/20\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/10\/20\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/10\/20\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\/","name":"Army hits end-strength goals through high retention, lower basic training attrition - Army Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/10\/20\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/10\/20\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6551153.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2021-10-20T17:13:48+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T01:43:23+00:00","description":"The Army credits its talent management initiatives and changes to basic training with helping it meet its strength goals.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/10\/20\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/10\/20\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/10\/20\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6551153.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6551153.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/10\/20\/army-hits-end-strength-goals-through-high-retention-lower-basic-training-attrition\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Your Army","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/","ad_zone":"your-army"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Army hits end-strength goals through high retention, lower basic training attrition"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","name":"Army Times","description":"Independent News For Soldiers | Army Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization","name":"Army Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/army-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/army-logo-white.png","caption":"Army Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Army Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6551153.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12471"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91833,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12471\/revisions\/91833"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12471"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=12471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}