Guard Reports Serious Drop in Enlistment - NYTimes

[rndmprsn]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/17/politics/17reserves.html?hp&ex=1103346000&en=ec0828fe89a6661d&ei=5094&partner=homepage

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 - In the latest signs of strains on the military from the war in Iraq, the Army National Guard announced on Thursday that it had fallen 30 percent below its recruiting goals in the last two months and would offer new incentives, including enlistment bonuses of up to $15,000.

In addition, the head of the National Guard Bureau, Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, said on Thursday that he needed $20 billion to replace arms and equipment destroyed in Iraq and Afghanistan or left there for other Army and Air Guard units to use, so that returning reservists will have enough equipment to deal with emergencies at home.

The sharp decline in recruiting is significant because National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers now make up nearly 40 percent of the 148,000 troops in Iraq, and are a vital source for filling the ranks, particularly those who perform essential support tasks, like truck drivers and military police.

General Blum said the main reason for the Army National Guard's recruiting shortfall was a sharp reduction in the number of recruits joining the Guard and Reserve when they leave active duty. In peacetime the commitment means maintaining their ties to the military with a weekend of service a month and two weeks in the summer.

[Jo March]

1. Thanks, *! Now the US is more vulnerable than ever!

Way to go, weed! You stupid, stupid little man!!:grr:

[cornermouse]

2. PR machine is ramping up for the draft.

Kiss your kids goodbye...:cry:

Bottom line: whether he was elected legally or not, we lost the fight for our children's lives.

[bobbobbins]

3. They shouldn't be reporting on this...it gives comfort to our enemies

[JHB]

4. Gee, wasn't I hearing that everything was all Hunky-Dorey?

I seem to recall a flurry of reports not long ago claiming high levels of re-upping and no staffing problems, that morale was high and everyone was eager to stay in.

Where did those go, I wonder?

[rman]

5. suppose there's a war, and nobody goes?

-

[oc2002]

6. This administration REALY is against the draft.

They want people that think like they do in thier military, they do not want people that will fight the military from the inside like in Nam.

As Chomsky put it, "the all volunteer army is more like a mercenary army, which is what you need for brutal imperial opression in third world countries" and that a draft would convert the mercanary army into a more 'peoples' army. And that is not what imperialist want.

[MaryH]

7. Well, duh!

Join the Guard and go to Iraq with no armor on your vehicle.

JOIN THE GUARD AND KISS YOUR ASS GOODBY!