SCOTT RITTER: The Military Recruiter's Lament

[laststeamtrain]

It should come as no surprise to any observer of modern America that U.S. military recruiters are having a difficult time meeting their quotas. Last year, the U.S. Army fell 6,600 recruits short of its goal to enlist 80,000 new soldiers. An increase in recruitment incentives, including signing bonuses and increases in college scholarships, combined with the raising of the minimum enlistment age (to 39) and allowing high school dropouts to be recruited, have not helped reverse the tide. Even the vaunted U.S. Marines, the pinnacle of the all-volunteer U.S. military, which has prided itself on its ability to attract recruits with slogans like "If everyone could be a Marine, there wouldn't be Marines" versus money and other recruiting gimmickry, have failed to make their enlistment quota.
<snip>

a main reason for the drop off in numbers of new enlistees is the war in Iraq and the growing casualty figures attributed to the fighting in Iraq.
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http://worldnewstrust.org/modules/AMS/article.php?storyid=2191

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Another reason is the horrible way

this malAdministration has treated the troops in the field, the wounded vets, and older vets.

[patrice]

2. Al Franken and one of his co-producers were saying, after their USO

trip to Iraq, that they had the definite impression that most of the troops were white Southerners. Makes sense since the South has historically had less employment opportunity than the rest of the country. But I was thinking about that fact in conjunction with these military recruitment problems. Say, we follow the Republicans into un-Ending War, say, the military becomes dependent upon a population that has a proportionately higher rate of Racism that the rest of the country. What happens in Congress to things like budget cuts that impact Black Americans, or Affirmative Action, or court appointments that affect those who are discriminated against?

[colonel odis]

3. because they're southern they're disproportionately racist?

not that what you said is a stereotype or anything ....

[patrice]

4. Okay,

If they are native Southern, there is a probability (not an absolute) that they are more "Racist" than others.

And all of us use stereotypes ALL of the time. You couldn't function without some ability to predict things about people and situations based on their characteristics. The difference is when someone does not allow others to demonstrate that they don't fit a stereotype. When I see the opposite of Racism, I don't care what part of the country you are from.

[colonel odis]

6. that's ok. southerners are used to being stereotyped.

we're the last group it's acceptable to openly make fun of.

[patrice]

7. That's hardly true at all.

In the present climate EVERYONE is a target and I wasn't making fun, merely stating a Probability.

Why are you twisting what I'm saying?

[colonel odis]

9. i don't feel like i was twisting what you were saying.

but it's not worth getting into a row about

[patrice]

10. right.

[sarcasmo]

11. You are wrong my friend, Fat people are the last group it's openly

OK to make fun of. My wife before surgery had experienced this fact many times.

[TheBaldyMan]

5. probably more racist because they are poor, white and working class

coming from a poor, white working class background myself: sometimes the truth hurts.

[patrice]

8. Race IS often more about Economics for most people.

And those for whom it isn't about economics are more possibly Racists.