BANGOR, Maine—Maine had the nation's third-highest Army recruitment rate last year as more than 400 young men and women from the state shipped off to active-duty basic training.
Maine's recruits represent 0.5 percent of the 80,410 enlistees nationwide.
Douglas Smith of the U.S. Army Recruiting Command at Fort Knox, Ky., said the number of active-duty recruits in 2007 was down slightly from the year before. He said the war in Iraq has made recruiting more difficult.
York County sent the state's highest number of recruits, at 68, while Franklin County shipped out the fewest, at five. Somerset County's total of 30 made it the only Maine county to rank nationally in the top 100 in terms of recruits per 1,000 eligible young people between the ages of 17 and 24.
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Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com
