posted on December 12, 2006 04:27:04 PM new
Dec 12, 4:36 PM (ET)
By PAULINE JELINEK
Army National Guard - Enlistment bonus up to $20,000 and up to 100% paid college tuition.
www.1-800-Go-Guard.com
Military Recruits - Free 2006 insiders guide to joining the Military. All you need to know.
www.military.com
WASHINGTON (AP) - Though Americans are increasingly pessimistic about the war in Iraq, the Pentagon said Tuesday it is having success enlisting new troops. The Navy and Air Force met their recruiting goals last month while the Army and Marine Corps exceeded theirs, the Defense Department announced.
The Army, which is bearing the brunt of the work in Iraq, did the best. It signed up 6,485 new recruits in November compared with its target of 6,150 - meaning 105 percent of its goal.
All the services turned in similar performances in October as well, meaning they so far are meeting their goals for the 2007 budget year that began Oct. 1.
"The services are starting off well," said Maj. Stewart Upton, a Pentagon spokesman.
The progress in recruiting comes as U.S. pessimism over the Iraq campaign mounts, according to a recent AP-Ipsos poll. Some 63 percent of Americans said they don't expect a stable, democratic government to be established in Iraq, up from 54 percent who felt that way in June.
Dissatisfaction with President Bush's handling of Iraq has climbed to an all-time high of 71 percent, according to the AP-Ipsos survey this month. A bipartisan commission last week released its recommendations for a new course and the president held a series of meetings this week to hear from his advisers.
According to figures released Tuesday by the Pentagon, the Navy signed up 2,887 recruits last month, or 100 percent of its goal; Marines signed up 2,095, or 104 percent of its 2,012 target and the Air Force signed up all 1,877 it was seeking.
The Army also met its goal in the 2006 budget year after missing its target in fiscal year 2005 for the first time since 1999. It added recruiters and offered recruits bonuses to help attract more to the service.
The Army has been recruiting about 80,000 people a year, setting differing monthly goals depending on the time of the year.
Though the active services are doing well, recruiting has lagged for the Army Reserve and Navy Reserve, officials said.
The Army Reserve last month signed up 1,888, or just 79 percent of its 2,376 goal and the Navy Reserve signed up 687 recruits, or just 91 percent of its 755 goal.
"“More Iraqis think things are going well in Iraq than Americans do. I guess they don’t get the New York Times over there.”—Jay Leno".
posted on December 12, 2006 04:41:52 PM new
Is this the same Pentagon/Military intelligence agency that said Iraq had weapons of mass destruction that required US military intervention?
Is this the same Pentagon that has published that it will need to have US Reserve forces complete SECOND tours of duty in Iraq?
If these goals are being met and exceeded, why are "fresh" volunteer enlistees that complete their 3 month basic training courses NOT being sent to meet the demand that the "on the ground" commanders in Iraq says are needed?
This is very confusing to me indeed.
Is this the same military complex that only within the past two weeks said that it had told the Commander-in-Chief what it perceived he wanted to hear as regards Iraq, rather than the factual and true information?
Not really for sure when to believe the Pentagon and when to give a silly grin.
posted on December 12, 2006 10:19:05 PM new
Yep, bear....they've been doing real well for a few months now....much to the obvious dismay of the anti-military people.
They do ALL they can to BLOCK the recruiters from reaching our young men and women....and we STILL are getting our needs met.
That's a good thing. Because when the day comes that these anti-military American's convince enough American's that having a strong military is a BAD THING....that's the day America loses ALL her FREEDOMS and her liberty...and THEY will have contributed to that.
Thank God there are enough Americans who STILL believe in our way of life..in our Nation and ARE willing to put their lives on the line. UNLIKE the cowards who only take advantage of what these SOLDIERS AND the soldiers that went before them PROVIDED THEM WITH.
They're takers....not givers, imo.
=======
"This is very confusing to me indeed."
That's QUITE obvious to all. NO surprise there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"While the democratic party complains about everything THIS President does to protect our Nation": "What would a Democrat president have done at that point?"
"Apparently, the answer is: Sit back and wait for the next terrorist attack."
Ann Coulter
[ edited by Linda_K on Dec 12, 2006 10:21 PM ]
posted on December 12, 2006 11:01:19 PM new
ATTENTION: TROLL ALERT!!
The only way to deal with trolls is to limit your reaction to reminding others not to respond to trolls.
When you try to reason with a troll, he wins. When you insult a troll, he wins. When you scream at a troll, he wins. The only thing that trolls can't handle is being ignored.
posted on December 12, 2006 11:48:12 PM new
The military has targeted the poor and disadvantaged...if the schools refuse(as they SHOULD) to give out information to the military they are THREATENED by the thugs running the recruitment campaigns to have funds taken away...I believe it's their Title 7 money?????
So poorer schools just get poorer and poorer turning out cannon fodder for the criminals in charge of this country.....
Maybe Profe can help me out with the correct Title???????
posted on December 12, 2006 11:55:14 PM new
Mingo you are so right and I cannot understand why parents are not up in arms and screaming at the top of their lungs.
The military knows that if they don't grab em right out of High School that their chances of getting them diminish significantly.
It is criminal what is being done to our young people.
posted on December 13, 2006 12:03:22 AM new
The military lowered the standards recently to meet their goals and now some of the recruits that score below aptitude levels are accepted. They can have certain medical or drug or criminal charges and be accepted now.
posted on December 13, 2006 12:07:03 AM new
Kiara you are so right...and they even accept nazis and skinheads and the KKK...they are recruiting garbage....and going after decent but poor kids,too...even to the point of kidnapping so they can have time to brainwash them without their parents around!
They promise them the moon but all they'll get is IRAQ!!!!!!
posted on December 13, 2006 12:29:23 AM new
These are the same posters that give LIP SERVICE to supporting out troops.
And on top of that...they continue with all their incorrect statements that have been PROVEN to be FALSE in the past.
Doesn't it just make you wonder why all these liberals are SO OPPOSED to those adults who CHOOSE to volunteer to serve our Nation.
God...to listen to them you'd think those recruits were being FORCED to serve.
We all know they're not. But the anti-military folks just can't, and won't EVER be able to grasp that many American's WANT to following in their parents/grandparents/great-grandparents footsteps.
It's just all so out of their ability to see there ARE BRAVE American's who WISH to serve our Nation.
So they continue on with their LIES.....and continuing showing how STUPID they think all those volunteers are for WANTING and CHOOSING to serve our Nation.
posted on December 13, 2006 12:55:53 AM new
Canada has had a fair amount of coverage on US deserters who have returned from Iraq and have now come to Canada. Some shared stories of being so proud to graduate and how the recruitment officer was right there to talk to them. The bonuses and promises of future education were the answer for some of them.
Next thing they knew, they were in Iraq. They said they were ordered to do things that were morally wrong and went against everything they believed in. They saw terrible sights including men, women and children being killed for absolutelty no reason whatsoever and they knew it was wrong so they could not return. They said they found out they had been lied to and Iraq was not responsilble for 9/11.
Some Vietnam deserters and draft dodgers have joined together to help these young men by offering them places to stay and to act as a support group. They are in a strange country and they are afraid.
One says he will return to the US and face his jail sentence because he can no longer handle the stress of his life being caught in limbo. They miss their families, they are in emotional pain and one missed his Grandma's funeral.
They said they love the US but their government let them down. After listening to them tell their stories, I cannot see anyone finding fault with these young men for not returning to Iraq to do horrific things that go against their morals.
posted on December 13, 2006 01:30:04 AM new
what a bunch of utter HOGWASH.
You sound just like j. kerry did during the VN war.
Canada can keep the cowards....deserters....they belong there.
"While the democratic party complains about everything THIS President does to protect our Nation": "What would a Democrat president have done at that point?"
"Apparently, the answer is: Sit back and wait for the next terrorist attack."
posted on December 13, 2006 07:51:49 AM newlowered the standards recently to meet their goals and now some of the recruits that score below aptitude levels are accepted.
More BS. if it were true you and craw still wouldnt meet the minimun requirements.
"“More Iraqis think things are going well in Iraq than Americans do. I guess they don’t get the New York Times over there.”—Jay Leno".
posted on December 13, 2006 08:23:18 AM newMore BS.
No Bear, it isn't. Some of the troop leaders have even expressed concern about certain new recruits and noted that they have mental problems and aren't really fit for the job they are required to do.
Many so-called 'normal' guys are coming back with severe mental problems so the guys going in to Iraq who are already unstable may be like loose cannons when they have to face some of the sights of war.
Army tops recruit goal by lowering standards
According to statistics obtained by The Associated Press, 3.8 percent of the first-time recruits scored below certain aptitude levels. In previous years, the Army had allowed only 2 percent of its recruits to have low aptitude scores. That limit was increased last year to 4 percent, the maximum allowed by the Defense Department.
About 17 percent of the first-time recruits, or about 13,600, were accepted under waivers for various medical, moral or criminal problems, including misdemeanor arrests or drunk driving. That is a slight increase from last year, the Army said.
Of those accepted under waivers, more than half were for “moral” reasons, mostly misdemeanor arrests. Thirty-eight percent were for medical reasons and 7 percent were drug and alcohol problems, including those who may have failed a drug test or acknowledged they had used drugs.
posted on December 13, 2006 08:40:57 AM new
Again....kiara provides PROOF of the problem with MSM liberal media - and how blindly the liberals like her are so willing to just believe ANYTHING they read. tsk tsk tsk
First the Army has always had a 4% alottment for 'less qualified' recruits. That's because they have felt that intelligence isn't the ONLY thing that makes a good soldier. And when the men want to join....they allow them to prove themselves.
For quite a while the Army's enlistment has been running at about 2%...of this same group of volunteers. But as the volunteers started slowing down...then THEN just went to the STANDARD that's ALWAYS been there.
NO LOWERING of their standards - the standard is STILL set at 4%. Not at all.
But of course the anti-military folks who don't have ALL the information they need to form an INTELLIGENT opinion, can ONLY rely on what the left leaning media tells them.
And of course, they FORGET to mention "NO STANDARDS HAVE BEEN CHANGED in regard to how well they do on their tests"
On others who weren't allowed to serve before, but are considered now.
The liberals want FELONS to be allowed to vote...but don't want some kid who was arrested for smoking pot allowed to enter the military.
They want prisoners to be given 'second chances' but don't want the same done for those who VOLUNTEER to serve their nation????
They sure have WEIRD standards of their own.
The military has ALWAYS turned the lives of young people around. Courts used to send some into the military OR JAIL....when they chose the military..they came out BETTER US citizens for their experience.
Looking back on HISTORY to other conflicts/wars....and just who was 'allowed' to join then. lol lol The liberals didn't apply such high standards to a group they don't even support BACK THEN.
But again....those who say they 'support our troops'.....can be seen as the pretenders they really are. SADLY.
[ edited by Linda_K on Dec 13, 2006 08:47 AM ]
For quite a while the Army's enlistment has been running at about 2%...of this same group of volunteers. But as the volunteers started slowing down...then THEN just went to the STANDARD that's ALWAYS been there.
NO LOWERING of their standards - the standard is STILL set at 4%. Not at all.
It looks like someone does not have their facts correct. If you have to increase the standard, then the standard was never at that point to begin with. If the standard was really 4% in previous years, then the military would not have had a problem reaching their quotas.
On October 10, the DoD announced that it had exceeded its goal of 80,000 troops for Army recruitment and retention for fiscal 2006. As the Journal editorial noted, the DoD recruitment announcement was "in contrast to 2005, when the Army fell about 6,600 recruits short of its goal of 80,000." But while noting that the military raised its "maximum allowable age to 42 from 35" and that the military offers "cash bonuses" as a way to increase recruitment numbers, the editorial did not note that, according to the AP, 2,600 troops were added "under new lower aptitude standards" in which "3.8 percent of the first-time recruits scored below certain aptitude levels." By contrast, "in previous years, the Army had allowed only 2 percent of its recruits to have low aptitude scores." The AP added that the "limit" of recruits scoring below the aptitude levels "was increased last year to 4 percent, the maximum allowed by the Defense Department." Reuters also reported that "[t]he Army accepted 2,650 recruits who scored in the lowest permissible category -- from the 10th to 30th percentile -- in a standardized aptitude test. The Army last year doubled the percentage of recruits it is willing to accept from this category." Because the Army recruited 80,635 soldiers in a year when its goal was 80,000, without the 2,600 troops who did not meet the previous standard, the Army once again would have failed to meet its recruitment goals.
Absolute faith has been shown, consistently, to breed intolerance. And intolerance, history teaches us, again and again, begets violence.
----------------------------------
The duty of a patriot in this time and place is to ask questions, to demand answers, to understand where our nation is headed and why. If the answers you get do not suit you, or if they frighten you, or if they anger you, it is your duty as a patriot to dissent. Freedom does not begin with blind acceptance and with a flag. Freedom begins when you say 'No.'
[ edited by logansdad on Dec 18, 2006 01:40 PM ]
