Bad retention a good thing with 'Sons of Iraq'

[unhappycamper]

Bad retention a good thing with 'Sons of Iraq'
By James Warden, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Wednesday, September 24, 2008

BAGHDAD — Soldiers in the Ghazaliya area of Baghdad are having a hard time signing up some members of "Sons of Iraq" to work for the Iraqi government. But in this case, it appears to be a good thing.

Many of the security volunteers are skipping the transition because they already have jobs lined up — not because they are angry at the government.

Shuja Naje Shake, a Ghazaliya "Sons of Iraq" leader, is representative of the trend. Twenty of the 230 people in his group are not interested in staying in "Sons of Iraq" when the Iraqi government takes over the program. Of those, seven are college students and five already work for a cell phone company. All cited time as the reason they chose not to continue.

"I prefer to be a student to complete my studies," said Mohammad Talib Abdullah, who’s studying Arabic in university. "It’s OK. I don’t have enough time to study and be a Ghazaliya Guardian."

The remaining eight with other jobs are more problematic. These men have government jobs. The Iraqi government does not allow someone to collect two government paychecks. Members in this situation must choose between the "Sons of Iraq" and their government job.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=57616