AP: Army Touts Recruiting Turnaround

[Eugene]

Associated Press
Army Touts Recruiting Turnaround
By ROBERT BURNS , 09.08.2006, 05:42 PM

The Army says its success in enlisting new soldiers this year,
after a dismal 2005, is innovative salesmanship by a bigger team
of recruiters and financial incentives like bonuses of up to $40,000.

The Pentagon announced Friday that the Army met its recruiting goal
for August, which a senior Army official said makes it virtually certain
that the service will achieve its aim of signing up 80,000 new soldiers
for the full recruiting year, which ends Sept. 30. Last year the Army
fell short for the first time since 1999.

"We're reaching out a lot better," said Maj. Gen. Sean Byrne, director
of military personnel management. The Army is making better use of the
Internet, for example, to reach more young people, he said.

The Army also has put about one-third more recruiters on the street,
and Congress approved new financial incentives for enlistees, including
signing bonuses for some slots of as much as $40,000. The Army also
began allowing people as old as 42 to enter the service; the maximum
age previously was 35.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/09/08/ap3004028.html

[Kutjara]

1. "signing bonuses for some slots of as much as $40,000."

Holy Hell, what godawful, dangerous, dirty, nasty job is so hideous that the Army has to pay people $40,000 bonuses to do it? I'm sure it's not staffing the lingerie counter at the base PX.

So the military's patting itself on the back for using good old fashioned hucksterism and bloodmoney to entice poor and underprivileged kids to their deaths? God bless America.

[flyarm]

9. sooo 80,000 x $40,000= what?? of our tax dollars to send kids to die??

[SmokingJacket]

2. Er, yeah, when all the other jobs are

frying onion rings or ringing up people at the Home Despot. $40K looks pretty good to us retail folk...

[Ezlivin]

3. It's because they are inducting old retards

Pretty harsh, eh?

:)

But they've raised the maximum enlistment age to 42 and lowered the standards in other ways.

These are by no means the "cream of the crop" recruits we're talking about here.

[Monkeyman]

4. Yep even Highschool drop outs let in

4 F's by the Draft now being taken in. Lower Standards in test scores. Cream of the Crop no way bottem of the line more like it. And when they have a mental problems after being there they will blame these kids homelife

[Ezlivin]

5. See: Jessica Lynch

Precisely.

PTSD and the results of exposure to depleted uranium is going to eat up this generation of veterans.

[bluestateguy]

6. The statistics are true because the Army says so

Someday, probably after all of these criminals have long since left office, evidence will surface revealing how the military faked, fabricated and falsified their "huge" recruitment numbers. Just watch.

[BrotherBuzz]

14. Maybe, maybe not

Individual services are no longer authorized to announce numbers. The Defense Department (specifically, Rummy's office) began controlling and releasing recruiting statistics for all of the services and the Guard and reserve in June 2005.

What's the old saw? - Figures don't lie, but liars can figure.

http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-892069.php

[lebkuchen]

15. Rummy now controls enlistment figures for all military branches

You can bet those figures are as screwed with as the employment rate.

[frylock]

7. np when you accept skinheads, gangbangers..

and kids with double-digit IQs.

[TexasLawyer]

8. We need them for war with Iran

"The Army's ability to recruit is particularly important now because it is trying to grow in size, as part of a plan to build a larger number of combat brigades for use in Iraq, Afghanistan and potentially elsewhere. "

[daleo]

10. The economy is slowing down

House values are plummeting. The army's $40K may look good to unfortunate people. The military-industrial complex loves having a lot of desperate people to recruit from.

[Joey Liberal]

11. They've made Basic Training easier

And lowered the mental standards. The Army also takes older recruits now.

[rocktivity]

12. They've lowered their recruitement targets THAT much?

We don't even know what the goals are anymore!

:eyes:
headbang

[July]

13. What were the old target numbers?

I've read at DU several times that the Army has made their numbers look better in the past by quietly reducing the target number. Anyone know what the target used to be?