The Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, which have far smaller recruiting needs than the Army, all met their targets, according to end-of-year figures released by the Pentagon on Tuesday evening.

The military uses an Oct. 1-Sept. 30 counting period to coincide with the federal budget year.

Army officials had conceded weeks ago that they were not going to meet their 2005 targets, and they have been focusing on implementing new measures to boost recruiting, including bigger enlistment bonuses.

The Army met its monthly goals from June through September but ran up such large deficits last spring that it ended the 12-month counting period with 6,627 fewer recruits than its goal of 80,000. It was the Army's first full-year deficit since 1999 and its biggest shortfall in 26 years.

Military recruiting normally is strongest during the summer and weakest during late winter and spring.

The Army National Guard fared the worst in 2005. It signed up 50,219 for the year, which is only 80 percent of its goal.

The Army Reserve finished with 23,859 recruits, or 84 percent of its goal.

The Navy Reserve also fell short, at 88 percent of its goal; the Air National Guard finished with 86 percent of its goal; the Air Force Reserve met 113 percent of its goal; and the Marine Corps Reserve finished at 102 percent.

Among the active-duty forces, the Air Force signed up 102 percent of its goal of 18,900; the Navy signed up 100 percent of its goal of 37,635; and the Marine Corps hit 100 percent of its goal of 32,917.

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