The Navy is expected to miss its recruiting goals for FY23 by roughly 7,000 sailors, according to acting Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti.

The Navy and other services are struggling to bring in new recruits, which military leaders attribute to more thorough medical screenings, fewer Americans eligible to serve and low civilian unemployment.

While the Navy will not hit its recruitment targets this year, the service had been bracing for a more dire outcome at the beginning of the fiscal year, Franchetti told the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday during her confirmation hearing to serve as CNO.

“We started out the year thinking we’d be about 13,000 short,” Franchetti said. “We’re going to be about 7,000 short. We’re doing better month by month than we were last year.”

[Probably dumped the drag queen recruiter just in the nick of time. Now, about those pronoun twins… ~ Beege]