U.S. military misses recruiting goals amid Iraq war

[merwin]

U.S. military misses recruiting goals amid Iraq war

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Army missed its goals for signing up recruits in April and expects to do so again in May, and the Marines also fell short, officials said on Monday, as the Iraq war further strained the all-volunteer U.S. military.

The Army and Marines provide the ground forces fighting rebels in the two-year-old Iraq war that has killed nearly 1,600 U.S. troops. At least 51 American troops died in April.

The active-duty Army missed its April recruiting goal and was 15 percent behind its year-to-date target, officials said. An internal forecast indicated the active-duty Army and part-time Army Reserve and Army National Guard also will miss their May goals.

The active-duty Army, striving to attract 80,000 recruits in the 2005 fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, has now missed its recruiting targets for three straight months.

.......

-------------------

Did somebody open a window? I feel a bit drafty.

[Coventina]

1. How can that be?

WHEN SO MANY FUCKING REPUBLICANS SUPPORT THIS WAR?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

WHERE THE FUCK ARE THEY?!?!?!?!?!?!?

[leetrisck]

2. With the Runaway Bride

in Duluth, GA -

[saigon68]

17. They are deliberately Hiding

These mostly WHITE Fundies have "beautiful minds", that they don't want to waste.

Besides those dreary semi-illiterate "minorities" can be cannon fodder just as well </sarcasm>

[Voltaire99]

19. "Politicians hide themselves away..."

"...They only started the war
Why should they go out to fight?
They leave that role to poor."

I don't find many occasions to quote, or even think about, Black Sabbath.

So thanks, Saigon. :-)

[llmart]

3. I think a person would have to be out of their minds......

to join the military now under BushCo. He thinks of them as cannon fodder to use for his own personal gains.

[NNN0LHI]

U.S. military comes up short again on recruiting

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/3164316

WASHINGTON - The Army missed its goals for signing up recruits in April and expects to do so again in May, and the Marines also fell short, officials said today, as the Iraq war further strained the all-volunteer U.S. military.

The Army and Marines provide the ground forces fighting rebels in the two-year-old Iraq war that has killed nearly 1,600 U.S. troops. At least 51 American troops died in April.

The active-duty Army missed its April recruiting goal and was 15 percent behind its year-to-date target, officials said. An internal forecast indicated the active-duty Army and part-time Army Reserve and Army National Guard also will miss their May goals.

The active-duty Army, striving to attract 80,000 recruits in the 2005 fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, has now missed its recruiting targets for three straight months.

more

[bpilgrim]

4. don't worry... the DRAFT is imminent

bet

peace

[Trajan]

5. Well ? ...

All it would take would be :

George having another of those folksy "Heck, Im just a stupid oaf from er ... O o . connecticut, but I have STRONG Convictions, and I stand by them no matter HOW wrong they might be!" chats .... Those war mongering neocons suck that shit up like it's mothers milk ....

Just a little finger wag from Cheney, along with a muttered threat or two, should have every right wing, red-blooded american bush supporter breaking in the doors at the recruiting office .... They are DYING to be patriotic and serve their nation ....

Right ?

[yorkiemommie1]

11. one would think

well, i am trying! i leave enlistment forms wherever i go w/ the address of the local recruiters office on.

Uncle Sam wants every Republican.

i was in target yesterday and soooo wanted to slap a sticky note w/ 'enlist' on their yellow ribbon display.. too many people and cameras around. sticky notes are so useful to carry around, hint hint.

[PurityOfEssence]

25. Careful, brer; those acid flashbacks can get rough...

Besides, there's no real fighting going on anyway; what's the big deal?

[tabasco]

6. Out of almost 60 milion Bush voters ....

how many are eliible for military service?

The assholes support war as long as somebody else fights it. They just like to watch war on tv - it makes them feel proud to be Americans.

My definition of pacifist is a republican the day the draft returns.

[Roland99]

12. Can we start the draft with the fundie chickenhawks?

A great place to look for "willing volunteers" would be freerepublic.com

[Career Prole]

7. Attention! May I have your attention please!

All you mickey-fickies who indicated your support of this war by voting for the present commander-in-chief please report to your neighborhood recruiting station at this time.

Parents who indicated support for the war, even though your military-age mickey-fickies went out and got drunk instead of voting, please help your mickey-fickey pack. Remember the baby-wipes.

You're making your preznit look stoopid...that is all!

[ray of light]

8. Make anyone who voted for Bush and their children go first!

[NeoConsSuck]

9. You mean there's not 80,000

patriotic freepers willing to do God's work? We can't scour the bible belt and recruit 80,000 out of Protestant churches? They're so willing to kill abortion doctors, why not ragheads?

Oh, I know why! Ragheads shoot back!

The title of the article should have been:

The Silence of the Chickenhawks

[PennyLane]

22. Great Idea!

Instead of beating down the college campus doors, recruiters should
go to church! Lay a big line of guilt about patriotism on 'em! :rofl:

[harpo]

10. sweeeeeeeeeet!!

[lebkuchen]

13. The army also saw a 12% decrease in reups for 2004 from previous FY.

FY 01 65%
FY 02 72.4%
FY 03 75.1%
FY 04 63.2%

The aura of 9-11 has worn off.

[bemildred]

14. Fixing to die rag:

Yeah, come on all of you, big strong men,
Uncle Sam needs your help again.
He's got himself in a terrible jam
Way down yonder in Vietnam
So put down your books and pick up a gun,
We're gonna have a whole lotta fun.

And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

http://www.saswat.com/doc/song/I%20feel%20like%20I%20am%20fixing%20to-die-rag.htm

[scavok]

15. Army pair's tactics eyed

Student-led sting ensnarls recruiters

By John Aguilar, Rocky Mountain News
April 30, 2005

Two Army recruiters in Golden have been suspended from their jobs while military officials look into allegations the two men used improper tactics to get an Arvada high school student to sign up for duty.

<snip>

The report featured David McSwane, an Arvada West High School honors student and editor of his school newspaper, who was "curious" to see what recruiters at a Golden recruitment facility would do if he told them he wanted to join the Army as a high school dropout with a serious marijuana problem.

<snip>

Starting in January, McSwane met with two recruiters in Golden several times and secretly taped a series of phone calls with them. On the tapes, one recruiter is apparently heard encouraging McSwane to create a fake high school diploma to cover for the fact that he had dropped out.

<snip>

McSwane got a friend to film another recruiter driving him to a store to purchase a detoxification kit to rid his system of supposed marijuana traces.

<snip>

McSwane said he got the feeling from the recruiters he talked to that they were desperately trying to sign him up by a certain date so that they could meet a monthly quota.

[Mountainman]

16. Come on all you war monger freepers and you paint ball warriors

Here is you big chance to put your ass on the line. Put your lives where your big mouths are!

[saigon68]

18. They should put their money where their Mouth is.

Dirty Bastards hiding behind Mommy's skirts.

They talk the talk

They can't walk the walk.

[Voltaire99]

20. The flip side of this: they found 85% of the saps they wanted

Which means "Mission Accomplished!" for the plan to keep the poor available as cannon fodder.

I still doubt a draft is coming.

The bitter truth is the chattering classes will tolerate no end to the deaths of those they look down upon. As long as their kids get off scott free, they'll be content to see the "volunteers" go off to Iraq, and they may say they disagree with the war, but they'll abide the status quo.

[Lochloosa]

21. Hey Repug's....do you know where your kids are tonight?

Not at the recruitment office..

[rodeodance]

23. rummy says to think of the drat is ."near-perfect ignorance." --

....The Iraq war marks the first test of the all-volunteer military in a protracted wartime environment. Some defense analysts have argued the United States may be forced to consider reviving the draft, abolished in 1973, if the military cannot attract sufficient numbers of volunteers.

But Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said last week a draft was not needed, adding: "I think the only people who could conceivably be talking about a draft are people who are speaking from pinnacles of near-perfect ignorance." ....

[leesa]

24. Where, oh, where, are all those brave Republicans??

It must be tearing them up not to be able to go to Iraq.