Army Sees New Turnaround in Recruiting ($40k incentives working)

[Herman Munster]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MILITARY_RECRUITING?SITE=7219&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-09-09-10-05-32

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Army says its success in enlisting new soldiers this year, after a dismal 2005, is innovative salesmanship by a bigger team of recruiters and financial incentives like bonuses of up to $40,000.

The Pentagon announced Friday that the Army met its recruiting goal for August, which a senior Army official said makes it virtually certain that the service will achieve its aim of signing up 80,000 new soldiers for the full recruiting year, which ends Sept. 30. Last year the Army fell short for the first time since 1999.

"We're reaching out a lot better," said the official, Maj. Gen. Sean Byrne, director of military personnel management. The Army is making better use of the Internet, for example, to reach more young people, he said.

The Army also has put about one-third more recruiters on the street, and Congress approved new financial incentives for enlistees, including signing bonuses for some slots of as much as $40,000. The Army also began allowing people as old as 42 to enter the service; the maximum age previously was 35.

[Ian David]

1. Too bad they can't use that money to buy their own body armor...

1/17/2006 6:25 pm
Let Soldiers Keep Dragon Skin Armor

Almost since the beginning of the war in Iraq, we have been hearing reports that our troops lacked adequate body armor. Time after time we have read that soldiers have been told to purchase body armor with their own funds. After many complaints, Congress recently passed legislation allowing soldiers or their families to be reimbursed equipment that is in short supply, including combat helmets, ballistic eye protection, hydration systems, and tactical vests, including body armor and body armor inserts. Reimbursement is allowed up to $1,100 per item and the equipment becomes the property of the U.S. government. There were no restrictions regarding brand name for any of the products.

As soldiers and their families are left on their own to purchase their body armor, they will investigate the pros and cons of each brand and choose the item that best fits their needs. Some soldiers are choosing to purchase a product called Dragon Skin, which is made by Pinnacle Armor, Inc. of Fresno, California. According to a review by Defense Review "What's most amazing about Pinnacle's SOV/Dragon Skin technology is how thin and light it is for the level of protection it provides. As far as the author is aware, no other body armor manufacturer in the world can match Pinnacle Armor Inc.'s capabilities in this regard. When you combine that with the armor's flexibility and area of coverage, no one else even comes close, as far as we know. Pinnacle's "scalar" hard armor ceramic disc configuration, which is what allows this hard armor system to be flex and move with the body, is really ingenious. . . I sincerely hope that all of our troops engaged in urban warfare in Afghanistan and Iraq end up acquiring Pinnacle Armor Inc. SOV/Dragon Skin vests. They need them--right now. Unfortunately, the reality is that most of them probably will never get them. Pinnacle Armor Inc. body armor costs more money than the old tech, and when it comes to equipping our infantry soldiers and Marines, money is always an issue."

When it's the soldier or the soldier's family making the purchase, money is not necessarily an issue when it comes to protection. Dragon Skin can cost as much as $6,000, but they are willing to spend the extra money to buy Dragon Skin if they feel it can mean the difference between life and death or if it can protect the soldier from devastating injuries.

Today there is a disturbing report coming from the organization Soldiers for The Truth which indicates the Army issued a new directive prohibiting the use of all commercially available body armor, including Dragon Skin. The order came from Army Headquarters located at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. Soldiers are reporting that "any soldier who refused to comply with the order and was subsequently killed in action "could" be denied the $400,000 death benefit provided by their SGLI life insurance policy as well as face disciplinary action." Nine U.S. generals stationed in Afghanistan are reportedly wearing Dragon Skin according to a company spokesman who reports the generals want to evaluate the product in a combat environment.

It's bad enough that our soldiers have to purchase armor on their own, and that it took Congress nearly three years to set up a program to reimburse them for their expenses. Adding insult to injury, the cost of the equipment is quite a bit more than the reimbursement and the equipment becomes the property of the government. For the Army to now threaten soldiers with disciplinary action and loss of a $400,000 death benefit if they actually use this equipment is unconscionable, particularly if generals are allowed to use the same equipment. The Army should choose the best available armor for the job and supply every soldier with it without further delay. If they aren't able to do that and expect the soldiers to do this on their own, then they must allow the soldiers to use the armor they chose and paid for.

One mother reports that her son said "He didn't want to use that other stuff. He told me that if anything happened to him I am supposed to raise hell." Let's not wait until something happens to him or any other soldier in his position. The time to raise hell is now.

More:
http://www.madison.com/post/blogs/dailybriefing/index.php?ntid=69140

[yourout]

5. Add in the fact that if you have a pulse they will take you.

It's no longer some of the best and brightest....it's now the dumbest and most desperate.

[SoCalDem]

2. Too bad they don't pay up when it's time to collect

There have been many reported cases of soldiers not getting those bonuses when they make it back alive..:(

[Monkeyman]

3. Most of these kids are from Red States that have no jobs for them

[TechBear_Seattle]

4. See, *'s economy is working!

Working to provide cannon fodder, that is.