WP: Army Aims to Catch Up on Recruits in Summer (Need 10,000 a month)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/10/AR2005061001897_pf.html

The Army announced yesterday that it missed its recruiting goal for the fourth consecutive month, a deepening manpower crisis that officials said would require a dramatic summer push for recruits if the service is to avoid missing its annual enlistment target for the first time since 1999.

The Army will make a "monumental effort" to bring in the average 10,000 recruits a month required this summer, said Maj. Gen. Michael D. Rochelle, head of the Army's recruiting command. An additional 500 active-duty recruiters will be added in the next two months -- on top of an increase of 1,000 earlier this year.

The Pentagon is also considering asking Congress to double the enlistment bonus it can offer to the most-prized recruits -- from $20,000 to $40,000 -- and to raise the age limit for Army active-duty service from 35 to 40, he said.

<snip>

Violent, long deployments to Iraq and a sound job market at home have combined to reduce what the Army calls the "propensity to enlist" -- the percentage of young Americans willing to consider Army service -- which dropped from 11 percent last year to about 7 percent this year.

<snip>

The sluggish flow of enlistments means that Army boot camps are less than half full -- training at 46 percent of their capacity this month, compared with 91 percent in May 2004, said Harvey Perritt, spokesman for the Army's Training and Doctrine Command. For example, the Army's infantry training center at Fort Benning, Ga., had by May trained only 8,700 of its fiscal year goal of 24,500 infantrymen.

Note, if they raise the age even more chickenhawks should be running down to sign up! We need to get the age of these blowhards and send them emails asking when they're going to do their patriotic duty!

[bluestateguy]

1. I hope they fail

Less recruits=no more food for the war machine=no more wars

I'll be rooting for them to fail. I won't mince words here.

[converted_democrat]

23. This will all be over soon...........

I believe in a higher power, and Iraq is the David and Goliath of our time. People are waking up in droves, our fight will only become easier from here on out.

[twenty4blackbirds]

44. Iraq is the David...?

:silly:

[converted_democrat]

48. Yes, Iraq is David.

[LiberallyInclined]

24. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.....

"Less recruits=no more food for the war machine=no more wars..."

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...

apparently you've never heard of the word "draft"?

[converted_democrat]

28. When they start the draft you will see a backlash in this country like you

have never seen before. 60% of the country is pissed, look at any polls you want. If they start the draft, they end the Republican party.

[jobycom]

2. Well, Bush is doing his part

With his economy, there aren't many options left these days.

[Frederik]

3. Yes, it's the "sound job market"

That's why people don't enlist...

[Broken_Hero]

4. Well it makes sense...

That our young folk aren't wanting to join up, all they have to do is watch the evening news, or log online to see that the War actually causes Death, and that war isn't glorious... I wouldn't want my kids, or anyone I know signing up for this "type" of war...its a waste of our nations blood, flesh, and tears....

[reprobate]

16. What? You mean war IS NOT a video game?

[lebkuchen]

5. For those high schoolers seriously wanting to enlist....

wait until after summer. When the DoD doesn't make their yearly quota, bonuses will double. Wait until after the start of the new fiscal year, on Oct. 1, when the govt. will have more money to dole out.

[BrotherBuzz]

36. But, but the minorities might take all the money and get the good jobs..

"So many minority youths had volunteered ... that there was literally no room for patriotic folks like myself." - Tom Delay

[MissB]

38. That never fails to crack me up.

Chickenhawk, indeed. :D

[BrotherBuzz]

39. It doesn't amuse this draftee

After all, the military found room for me...


LYING Chickenhawk, indeed. :D

[ixion]

6. how long before the prison population becomes eligible?

That's my bet. With the highest per capita prison population in the industrialized world, and with our fancy new police state laws filling the jails... seems like just a short step to having the option of serving your time as a grunt fight for 'democracy'. :eyes:

[Dulcinea]

13. That's what I think too.

Nonviolent drug offenders & other low-level criminals will get the chance to get out of jail, get their record expunged, etc., in exchange for entering the military & being sent to Iraq.

Watch for it.

[soup]

15. Yep. Cue the music , bring out the Boss-

"Born in the U.S.A."

>>Got in a little hometown jam
So they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man

Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.<<

[shanti]

43. gotta make all those potheads

do their patriotic duty, eh? :sarcasm: i wouldn't put it past him.

[ClintonTyree]

7. Utter desperation...

on the part of the Army. It's summer, people don't wan to screw up their summer plans by enlisting in the Iraq war machine.
They're pulling out all the stops, huge bonuses, raising the age limit. They're preying upon all of the unemployed the "bush economic miracle" has passed over.......meaning almost everyone.
Good luck with that, Army. Maybe you should change your slogan again. "Be all you can be", "An Army of One" (that's getting VERY close to the truth). How about, "Last Chance to Enlist Before You're Drafted"? That should bring them rolling in! :eyes:

[llmart]

8. Oh, but I thought it was President Clinton........

who was so disastrous for the military????? Where are the rightwing nutjobs now to blame this on their chickenhawk leaders?

The military has been gutted by Bush/Cheney. No one in their right mind wants to join to get sent off to die for oil profits.

[4dsc]

9. So where are all the damn FREEPER's???

I wonder why our lurking freepers are not filling the ranks??

[Orsino]

47. The Army's not big on entitlements right now...

...and the special treatment afforded white soldiers isn't as attractive these days.

What's in it for the freeps, then, when they can already reach patriotic orgasm by placing a ribbon on their SUVs?

[unhappycamper]

10. The sign on the left sez it all.

From thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3829229&mesg_id=3829229

[Menshevik]

11. look at the picture that the post put with the article

"Staff Sgt. Stephen Pate, left, and Sgt. Mark Ward recruit in Hays, Kan. Enlistment often peaks during the summer."

LOL!

[leftchick]

14. That is pretty funny

and I don't know wtf "power of pride" means either!

:freak:

[soup]

18. Never understood that one myself.

Neighbors had one plastered on their SUV for a while along with the requisite 190 thousand flags and a Bush/Cheney sticker. They're stand-offish and we've never had a conversation, so didn't think inquiring about it would be a good opener, if you know what I mean.

Maybe we need one that reads "Proverbs 16:18"

sigh.

[leftchick]

40. you are indeed quite right...

That is excellent....

Pride (goeth) before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

[Melsky]

32. Pride comes before a fall

that is what I think when I see those stickers. I used to live in a town with a marine base and they were everywhere.

[bluestateguy]

41. Hmmm

Somehow I don't see a kid with a backwards baseball cap and an "American Idiot" T-shirt as part of the next generation of front line soldiers.

At least I hope not.

[TomClash]

12. Raise the age to 70

This way grey beards can get paid to enlist instead of collecting SS.

[noamnety]

17. When do the bonuses get paid?

Is that one of those deals where if you get yourself killed or discharged because of wounds, you haven't fulfilled your commitment, so they don't have to pay you the full amount?

[Earth_First]

21. Generally...

50% when you complete Basic Recruit Training and your specialty school, 25% on 'xyz' anniversary of your enlistment (in my case it was my thrid anniversary) and 25% when you ETS the service in which you enlisted (including IRR time in my case).

[noamnety]

22. And if you die or are injured

Do they still pay it (to you or your survivors)?

[LiberallyInclined]

25. two questions...

"...25% when you ETS the service in which you enlisted (including IRR time in my case).

what are ETS and IRR?

[CRK7376]

27. ETS and IRR

ETS=Exit Time in Service (THat wonderful day when you are no longer on Active Duty, leaving the military)

IRR=Individual Ready Reserve (most IRR are soldiers that do not go to drills or annual training events with units. THey are inactive, on the rolls and being called to active duty by the droves for the past year or so....so many outstanding freeper volunteers you know....

[tanyev]

19. Up to 40? Great!

That means a lot more RW talking heads are now eligible to stop talking the talk and go walk the walk.

[leesa]

30. That's right. Isn't Sean Hannity eligible now?

[The Icon Painter]

20. Remember ...

Remember the old poster: "What if they gave a war and nobody came?" Kind of looks like we may be finally getting there.;-)

[AndyTiedye]

51. Does Somebody Have a Better Scan of it Than This?

http://lists.village.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Exhibits/Track16/nobody_came.html

[salin]

26. What, more forced Conscription?

ala the story of the kid kidnapped in Washington State?

[gratuitous]

29. This reminds me of the old math problem.

You're in a car on a one mile oval track. You want to do two laps, and average 60 mph. Unfortunately, you have some trouble with a balky transmission, and you complete the first lap averaging only 30 mph. How fast do you go on the second lap so that you average 60 mph for the two laps?

Highlight area below for answer:

You don't have a chance. In order to do two laps averaging 60 mph, you have to complete those laps in two minutes (60 mph is a 1 mile per minute), and you took two minutes completing the first lap.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

31. Somebody close the door

It's gettin' a little DRAFTY in here... (Just after the selection, I predicted it would kick in by July. I may be close after all.)

[ticapnews]

33. I've been signing up my right wing friends for info from the armed forces

http://www.marines.com/request/contact_recruiter_request.asp
https://www.goarmy.com/contact/send_for_info.jsp?hmref=cs
http://www.navy.com/joinnow
https://secure.airforce.com/contact/

Have any Bush/Cheney supporters in your neighborhood, school or workplace? Send them the above links. Or, better yet, eliminate the middle man and enter their information yourself. I am sure they will appreciate the endless calls and mountains of mail they start receiving from recruiters... :)

[yorkiemommie1]

35. neat idea!

n/t

[twenty4blackbirds]

45. fyi 'Spam sign-up man convicted of harassment'

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/06/10/spam_harrassement_lawsuit/

Spam sign-up man convicted of harassment
By John Leyden
Published Friday 10th June 2005 15:02 GMT

A US man who signed his boss up to various spam lists has been convicted of harassment. Scott Huffines, 41, from Essex County near Baltimore, Maryland, was sentenced to probation and 100 hours community service this week after pleading guilty to misuse of electronic mail, the Baltimore Sun reports.

The Web designer signed Alex Vitalo, his female supervisor at Maryland Public Television, up to dating services and job sites. But the revenge ploy backfired when his victim forced an investigation that traced the sign up messages back to Huffines. The case is reckoned to be the first of its kind considered by US courts.

...®

[ticapnews]

46. I've only signed them up at four websites...

and the military recruiters would be the first to tell you they aren't spam :P

Thanks for the heads-up though ;)

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

34. What if they gave a war and nobody came?

I think that's where we're headed.

All these uber patriots with thier ribbons and fervent support seem to pale when they realise that they or thiers are the ones that are going to be in harm's way.

Then they realise that, "gee, there really ISN'T terrorists knocking on our doors. Gee, Western civilization ISN'T going to end if we don't reshape the Middle East."

It' going to be an interesting summer.

[Endangered Specie]

37. What illegal pratices do you think they'll pull this time?

a) Entice them with sex
b) Ignore minimum requirements (age, education, criminal record)
c) Threaten/blackmail recruitees
d) All the above
e) something else more creative

[Rex]

42. Wow, why stop at 40?

I'm surprised they haven't lowered the age to 16. Can we hold Boosh accountable in a court of law for all the soldiers he sent off to die in Iraq/Afghanistan? One day.

[shadowknows69]

49. because high schoolers

are so much more likely to go join the army on their summer vacation. yeah, good luck with that.

[Zerex71]

50. Folks, you'll love this.

I was going to post this on the Freep site but obviously you need a login. So I emailed the site administrator:

To: [e-mail]
Subject: I need assistance.

Actually, it's not me who needs assistance, but the U.S. Military.

As I know your website is very much pro-war and very gung-ho for illegitimate
mass murder, death, mayhem, and general war profiteering, I thought I might take
this moment to introduce you to a sincere opportunity opening up to you and your
fellow Freepers:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/10/AR2005061001897_pf.html

It seems the Bush war machine needs people and badly, to the tune of 10,000 new soldiers
a month, give or take. That's a staggering sacrifice to be made on their behalf, but I know that
you have many many more members than that on your website. Therefore, it follows that
you're the best place to get fresh blood from (pardon the pun) to help keep the war machine
going. So, are you going to do it? Are you going to sign up yourself, or invite your members
to put their money where their mouths are? Think of it as a fundraising drive; after all, I'm sure
you collect money on George Bush's behalf (not that he needs it -- he's a rich millionaire with
lots of connections) Let's hope in the name of the sacrifice that is asked of people by Bush & Co.
that his most diehard supporters get involved in this exciting new opportunity!

Support The Troops? You betcha, Freepers!

Sincerely,