A Thread Sure To Make FastPaste Cry...
 

Military Meets, Exceeds Recruiting Goals

Dec 12, 4:36 PM (ET)

By PAULINE JELINEK

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.

Source

Here ya go, paste... :rolleyes:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1166055026.gif

Randy

It just shows the kids turning 18 are getting dumber by the year. By the time the first wave of "fully-edumicated-by-'No-Child-Left-Behind' kiddies hits 18, the gubmint will be assured of an endless supply of cannon fodder and dependant-on-the-system individuals. The perfect servants of the modern governmental aristocracy.

*** Edit ***

Before someone accuses me of being "anti-military" or implying that soldiers are stupid (a la John Kerry), let me say that's NOT what I'm saying. A person who enlists is a brave person, but a person who enlists in wartime - especially during THIS war, which is illegitimate by the best interpretation is a fool. And yes, it's possible for someone to be both brave and a fool.

Maybe they couldn't find better jobs. Or perhaps recruiting goals were set for achievability.

Or maybe they just wanted their share of the glamorous life.

Or just maybe P-O-Phile has no basis for his idiotic comments, despite his apparent belief in his own towering intellect. The numbers speak for themselves. And I would argue that it's not because the world is full of idiots.

Nice try brainiac, but the doom and gloom anti-american attitudes that I read every day on this BBS...and see on public television, are just so biased and devoid of real fact or experience, its ridiculous.

I look at the military as an opportunity. Sure, you can be killed, and that would suck. But a person can also receive an enormous amount of training for the world outside of the military.

If you watch enough Saturday and Sunday football, you'll see through the recruitment ads that all branches of the military are offering some fairly irresistable offers for kids to join up, particularly free college. Man, you can't be that with a stick!

And new recruits aren't morons. More often than not, when soldiers are interviewed today, they are polite, use proper grammar, are succinct with their explanation. Try getting that out of an athlete or rap artist, or even a politician.

Also, I don't think it's that easy to get into the military. They've evolved to be very selective about who they recruit. The recruit needs good grades, have community service, leadership qualities, and a host of other attributes similar to what four-year colleges look for.

I'm not saying there aren't valid reasons. I'm saying anyone foolish to enlist now, in wartime, when you have a 99.9% chance of being shipped off to the hell-hole in Iraq to be the face of the "evil American imperialist infidel empire" to the ungrateful citizenry there, you're a fool.

Even fools can rationalize.

You have a death wish? By all means - go sign on the line. This ain't a cause worth dying for. There are some reasons I'd gladly pick up an M16 and lace up boots for - this sure as hell ain't one of 'em.

The downsizing of the Military has created a serious problem. Our industry used to have a large pool of military trained people to take technical jobs. They already had experience. Now we have a very hard time finding mechanical and electrically experienced people to be technicians. And the votec people we do get, usually are not very good. Very few people want to be mechanics and machinists these days.

There are multiple reasons why people join the military. Yes, some join because they think it is the best job open to them. Many, however, join to serve their country, learn self discipline, gain leadership experience, learn vital skills that can be used in the job market, and be part of something they can be proud of for the rest of their lives.

You guys act like our troops are dying by the thousands each day. Each death of a troop is horrible, but losing less than 3,000 troops in 4 years is a pretty small mortality rate. Yes, Iraq is dangerous...but signing up for the military is certainly not "a death wish".

Recruiting goals that are published are set for achievability, there's not just two sets of books on this, there are three or four depending on who's asking.

When we Americans set the goal at zero for a few years, Randy, I can guarantee all sets of books will look the same in the totals column.

0
0
0
0

I wonder if Pat has made his quota on cuts & pastes this year?

Paste,

You seem to have been setting your own goals extremely low for quite a while, and reaching those low goals with ease.

Personally, I prefer to aim high, to be all I can be...one of the few, the proud. After all, being a true American is not just a job, nor an adventure...it's our responsibility!

Randy

Some day, Randy, I hope you'll become a responsible American, but so far you haven't been, and show no signs of ever becoming one.

You're one of the top ten unAmerican guys on this forum. Not up to Mul's standards yet, but you're diligently working on it.

By your standards, I take that as a compliment.

Randy

Randy, I can't say that I've noticed your posts before, but if FatPat is attacking you like that, you're automatically one of my favorite posters. I figure anyone he accuses of being anti-American is probably a true patriot and anyone he holds out as a paragon of virtue should be investigated for treason. But what can you expect from a guy who's still fighting the Civil War? From the losing side. :)

You are banned, Sir.:)

If I ever leave Concourse ABC in Atlanta, I plan on asking Randy for a beer.

He'll buy, of course, since the Marines looove Navy pilots:D

Semper Fi Randy!

I just received a Christmas card from a guy I went through infantry school with. He is a Mustang Lieutenant Colonel Selectee.

I wish you and your family the best.

F..........Patsy. I hope I make your list too. Don't put me on the "naughty list" though Santa look-a-like!

David

Any time, Seahawk! It will be my honor! You too, David! :)

Randy

Randy - Pasty called me childish recently.....You now belong to a very elite club......Welcome sir....

The military offers fantastic opportunity for young adventure seeking kids nowadays(i know this comment will seem bizarre to leftist types, but it is the truth), and the enlistment bonuses can be very substantial, so this news doesn't surprise me that much. It's still good news to hear though. :)

Recruiting and retention is so good in the AF that when we offered to let guys get out early because of our downsizing...nobody would leave. Now we are cutting involuntarily to get our strength down to the required level.
You guys could make your lives much better in two seconds...just put the paste on ignore.
I know he is a good laugh at first...but it gets painful. Believe me...it is like having an abscessed tooth pulled.

Feeling better, huh Wayne? ;)

Gee...a lot of words to tell us that the cost of recruiting is up during a period of record employment and a shooting war....do you really think that is something odd? I imagine it is difficult to find highly motivated, available, drug free young men and women with high moral standards and no previous trouble with the law, in great physical condition, drug free and willing to live in a tent and get shot at....Not to mention competing with the Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and Marines for these folks. The rest of the article really only talks about the high costs of war....which really is not a surprise either.

Boy, what a statement coming from a traitor to the country who feeds him and his family every day!

Here ya go...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1166096679.jpg

Randy

A few months ago in the letters area of WSJ's A section a writer said the answer to Army recruiting is to pay them more.

When I used to do contract work with NASA that was our running joke with government run programs, you do one of two things, throw more money at it or throw more men at it.

NASA was really good at this and they were rocket scientists, imagine what the military does?

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

fintstone - Do you really think a majority of the recruits are coming from area's that are booming? The recruiters are scouring places like Albany, NY and Detriot where the economy is bleek and the best way out is to enlist with promises of a better life.

MY sis-in-laws ex enlisted, 10 years ago he was living in his car with no real prospect of a good lfe, his mother threw him out of the house when he was 17 because he stood up to his pedophile step dad. He was a trained fire fighter and could not find a job. So he enlisted, now he is career and loving it. Although he is over here in the states now training others to send them over to Iraq. I am not too sure he would be loving it if he was in Iraq.

This still awes me. The love that dare not speak it's name:)

Yes, and that's only one of the issues. The Army's standards for recruits varies according to the part of the country they're recruiting from. Southern recruits, since more southern men have traditionally volunteered, are of a higher standard, recruits from California, New York, and large cities tend to be recruited from a lower set of standards because the military tradition is lacking or next to non-existent. You'd have a hard time getting any recruiting sergeant to admit that, but it's true.

One of the attractions of the military is they put you in charge of really expensive, neat equipment at a very early age. In my father's P-38 squadron they had a replacement pilot arrive, qualified in the aircraft, and all of 18 years old. That was in the european theater too.

I served with a helicopter pilot that flew missions in Vietnam at age 19, in a UH-1M gunship.

Of course, the military loves these young guys, they'll do dangerous, sometimes suicidal, actions without thinking about it.

There's a problem with your statement, Joe, IT'S A LIE.

Hehe, Wayne. We are trying to win a war by half-assing it. Does this sound like another war that took place in the 70s?

The soldiers are working hard, but the actions and decisions issued from the top destroy the progress.

Well good for you, you stopped cashing the checks then. At least you're a man of principle now...kudos.

I'm sure that there's more then enough blame to go around on why the US Army is "out of position" when it comes to equipment for the current conflict. I went to the Congressional web site to check some voting records.

1) Just last week a bill which would have required the Sec. of Defense to report on the relevence of Congressional spending inititives to the fundimental DOD objectives was voted down with bi-partison support. The message -- congressional politics will trump DOD requirements. :(

2) Looking at the most recent defense appropriations bill H.R.5122, that was passed by both the House and the Senate, you can see where they are chosing to send the money. For example, OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE FUNDING.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1166108084.jpg

(Note: the table is in decreasing pareto order)

After allocating 48% of the money to the Navy and Air Force, they at least had the foresight to admonish the Sec. of Defense in section 116... Looking at the Navy spending, where's it going???
The headlines look like this... For the Air Force, they look like this... Now while many of these programs help us get to where we are (ie. Successfully invading Iraq and Afghanistan, and removing the powers that be from office in those countries), most of them (excepting the AF's strategic airlift structure and maybe the supporting KC135E) don't help the soldier on the ground stop a suicide bomber, or win the hearts and minds of the population. So almost half the budgets gone and they haven't gotten down to mission critical stuff.

So as I understand it, the DOD is directed by Congress to allocate the priority distribution of the CVN-21 carriers to the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan??? What's (s)he going to do with that against suicide bombers?

Note that I didn't need any pundits to point this stuff out to me, only about 15 or 20 minutes of honest research at non-partisan (U.S. Government in this case) web sites.

This reminds me of the musings of another great general and politician:
- Otto von Bismarck (1815 - 1898)

Yea right he stopped cashing the checks every month from the US Govt that allows him to continue to spout off the way he does.

He does not have the balls to do the right thing but he sure is brave on a computer...

Well done, John, truth in black and white.

I think it's pretty easy to see that these procurements are of the type desired during the height of the Cold War, and have nothing whatsoever to do with defending America, and everything to do with managing a worldwide empire.

Which is why we Americans need to cut this funding by about 90%.

Nah, I believe him. If Pat says he stopped cashing his goverment checks then I believe him. He's goofy but I don't think he's dishonest.

What government checks?

Further, if I were "cashing a government check" it would be earned, like from any other business. Contractual obligations are just that, contracts.

You seem to have difficulty with that concept, but do try to grasp it.

Now, if the government, federal or otherwise, ceased to exist, then I'd deal with that, it certainly does not exist so that it can pay money to me, or anyone else. If anything, the federal government does that in order to have a captive support group. Among which I do not count myself.

In short, you should approve of my desire to eliminate a constant drain on your resources, what is the reason you do not?

I just want some of that killer cheese they give out.

I agree about the contract, but you said the government doesn't help feed your family......Which if you cash their checks is a lie. There's no shame in it Pat, if you're on the governement take then so be it. I and others like me are more than happy to help you out.

Clearly, that's not true, that you can't usderstand that isn't my problem, it's yours.

Quote:

There's no shame in it Pat, if you're on the governement take then so be it.

Such vitriol underlying that statement, for shame.

Quote:

I and others like me are more than happy to help you out.

Relative you you, I have an excess of charity available, generated by my own labor, to give to you if I chose to do so. Your largest deficit is ignorance, which can be cured. If I thought your problem was stupidity, I'd not have the time to write this for you.

It took you that long to write that? I'm disappointed.

Anyway, you're welcome. I hope the extra bucks we give you make your life a little easier.

I know it's hard for some people to say thank you, so I won't hold its' absence against you.