July 14, 2008: The U.S. Army continues to meet its recruiting goals, for the first six months of the year. In fact, so many people were trying to join the reserves, that recruiters were told to slow down its efforts, lest all the positions available be taken before the end of the year. The Army National Guard (which contains most of the army reservists) now has 108 percent of the recruits it was to bring in this fiscal year (which began last October).

The army is still suffering most of the casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. Last year over 3,000 soldiers had to be replaced because of combat deaths, or soldiers retired because of wounds, sickness or combat fatigue. Similar losses for the other services totaled less than a thousand troops. All the services have people in the combat zone, but army and marine personnel are doing most of the dangerous jobs. Casualties are way down this year, and that will be reflected in lower recruiting goals for next year. That's because combat losses, even with more fighting in Afghanistan, will be less than half what they were in 2007.

Worsening economic conditions in the United States (unemployment rates are at 5.5 percent, up from 4.6 percent a year ago) makes it easier for recruiters, and has always been the major factor in determining how easy it is to get new recruits. Over the last few years of high economic activity, the military has had to pay out billions of dollars in enlistment bonuses, to attract the people they wanted. While there's been no trouble in getting people for combat jobs, most soldiers (about 85 percent) do "support" jobs, many of them virtually identical to civilian jobs. For these troops, it's more of an economic decision, and the military has to be competitive. The cost of competitiveness does down as the unemployment rate goes up.

Attrition: American Volunteers Being Turned Away

Doesn't seem too broke to me.

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The greatest happiness is to vanquish your enemies, to chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth, to see those dear to them bathed in tears, to clasp to your bosom their wives and daughters.

Genghis Khan

Leroy Green: The truth will be revealed only to eyes unclouded by desire.
Sho'nuff: It's mumbo jumbo like that and skinny little lizards like you thinkin' they the Last Dragon that gives kung-fu a bad name.

I am surprised that no one has whined about recruiting the poor and unemployed means we are scraping from the bottom of the barrel.

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Only the dead have seen the end of war - Plato

They have. Read through the forum. That usually comes right after posting that the Army has met its recruiting goal ....

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“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” - Edmund Burke

: "Mr. President, the economic numbers are in the shitter. Unemployment is up. The liberal media will get us for sure."



: "How can we spin this? You know, turn this into a positive."



: "Recruiting is up!"

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It's really funny that people call the most powerful and effective fighting force on the planet, a broken military....

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Yeah kinda like they say we can't win in Iraq, when in fact in the actual Military battle phase of it. We freaking took apart the Iraqi military in stunning fashion. To bad Bush didn't realize there was more to it than that.

That is why I find it so funny when people say we can't do this or we can't do that. If it involves actual conventional standing armies in the field, about the only thing we can't do is be beat. I am not sure there is a conventional army in the world we could not decimate in record time. Occupation is a different story, but when it comes to trashing armies in the field we have no equal.

All in all, military pays aren't bad for people starting out with few skills, or skills that nobody wants.

If it weren't for that unfortunate propensity to send troops into harms way, I'd push my son to at least consider a stint in the military.

If nothing else he'd learn to fold his clothes and keep his area policed.

Great, there's the second benefit to a bad economy.

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Funny...My daughter and all her friends are STILL waiting to get sent into harms way.

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Only the dead have seen the end of war - Plato

That's the wrong attitude to have. If everyone avoided the military for the "possibility" of being sent into harms way, we wouldn't have one and would already be part of another country. It's pretty bad to generalize by saying they have few skills that no one wants. IMO, having the skill to operate highly technological vehicles (jets, submarines, tanks, etc...) while also having the skill of physically defending the nation is good enough skill for me. In fact, I wish the country would require everyone to serve in the military for a time after high school.

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Not to mention how it teaches one to be responsible for ones own actions, and that hard work pays off.

Of course I am sure someone will hate me for saying that, someone always does

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Charles_Main

"Whenever a man has cast a longing eye on offices, a rottenness begins in his conduct."
Thomas Jefferson

"Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition."
Thomas Jefferson

I heard Al Queda exceeded their recruiting goals.

It is easy to recruit in a recession, that's one tool Al Queda uses, poverty.

Thank you Jim Webb for the GI Bill you sponsored and McCain argued against. He said it would

I guess the military has it good points and its bad points.To bad the the bad out ways the good for the simple fact of putting people in harms way.I do agree that a person can learn a lot of great life skills in the military as well as education that will help with living everyday life . But i still would not suggest the option with my children but if they decide on the military themselves i would not go discourage them.

Really? Knowing what you know now about Viet Nam or Iraq, you would be willing to sacrafice one of your own to die for those causes? Knowing Bush and most rich kids dodged the draft?

No way is my life or one of my nephews lives worth it. I know that is horrible for most Americans to hear. It is very unpatriotic, but its the truth. I agree with Ali. No Viet Namese ever called me a....

Maybe I would have gone after 9 11, but then Bush spread us thin and that put our troops in both Afgan and Iraq in jeopordy. And our troops sat in the middle of a civil war in iraq for 4 yrs without a game plan.

No, no way i'd let my kids go get blown up in iraq under bush's leadership and get blown up so exxon can make record profits and so haloburton can empty the us treasury.

maybe ww2 I would, but then you see how they use front line soldiers. They sent millions to die in normandy or at midway. small gains but huge losses of life.

What good is freedom when my kid is dead.

Republicans used to be non interventionalists. Unless it directly affected America, we stayed out of world affairs. Today, they tell us we fight for freedom but then it ends up being about power and money.

I respect any kid that signs up, but kids are dumb and think they are invincible.

Look how they treated Tillman. They covered up how he died.

Look at Abu Garabe. Rumsfeld told them to torture and then they court marshalled soldiers when it should have been the commanders that got locked up.

I could go on about how we all know our politicians are corrupt, so why would I go die for their causes?

Not after the last 6 yrs. No way. I couldn't stop my kids, but I sure would try.

You are a fuckin loser elitist puke for brains snob.

Many kids are smarter than you give them credit for. Many kids go into the military BECAUSE they know what they want out of life and unlike your pussy fuckin ass are fully aware of the consequences of their decisions.


Oh and last time I checked it was dumb fucks that sacrificed themselves so that YOUR sorry ass got created. Or do you simply REJECT all the previous wars America has had? Many puke wads just like yourself said THE EXACT same things about WWI and WWII, the Civil War, AND the Revolutionary War. EVERY damn one of those wars put you right where you are today.


THATS RIGHT! SOMEONE ELSES DUMB ASS KID DIED SO THAT YOU MAY BE ALIVE TO SPOUT YOUR FUCKIN SHIT RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW!


So maybe just maybe you may want to look at your kid a little differently. And thank those before you FOR dying so that you came into existance today thus creating what stands before you.

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Only the dead have seen the end of war - Plato