Army and Marines Miss Recruiting Targets

For the first time since 1999, the US Army is in danger of coming up short on new recruits. The US Marine Corps has missed their recruiting goals for January and February, the first months that has happened in for over a decade. The Army is boosting financial incentives, and it has raised the age limit for National Guard and Reserves enlistment from 34 to 39, although the Regular Army hasn't changed to the higher age. Meanwhile, the Navy and Air Force are on target for their recruiting goals. Then, it should be noted that the Navy and Air Force are not sending people to patrol cities in Iraq.

The Army is putting a brave face on things. Army Secretary Francis Harvey says he is optimistic that this summer will see an increase in the rate of recruitment. He has a marketing plan. "We're going to appeal to patriotism. We're going to appeal to the value of service, and we're going to do it in a very provocative way. We talking about getting that message to the influencers, including parents, including teachers," he told Reuters. Still, the Regular Army is lagging by 6%, the Reserves by 10% and the Guard by 25%. He needs 80,000 by September 30, the end of fiscal 2005. At the same time, he refuses to get rid of the "don't ask, don't tell" ban on gays in the US Army, and he refers to a draft by calling it "the D-word."

To his credit, the Secretary is on the right track to get young people into the military. If the military is to remain a volunteer enterprise, it has to look like a good option, and its offerings need to be communicated. College isn't for everyone, and an 18-year-old without some special talents is not the first choice of the HR people in most corporations. There are individuals who best shot in life is the military. For the rest, there is the matter of patriotism. A few years contributed to the common good pays benefits for a lifetime, all the more so when done voluntarily.

While the pile that was the World Trade Center was cooling, the military had no trouble getting recruits. Just as men stood in line to get a uniform and a gun on December 8, 1941, the fall of 2001 saw a boost in the military's public standing. Pat Tillman left the NFL to be an Army Ranger, and died in Afghanistan in April of 2004. But much has happened since he and others volunteered.

There are as of right now, 1525 American dead in Iraq, and only 140 of them died in the fighting before the fall of Baghdad and the "end of major combat operations" on May 1, 2003. A further 717 died during the US occupation, which "ended" with the sovereignty handover on June 28, 2004. During the period between the handover and the January 30 elections, another 579 died. Since the elections, 89 America troops have died. Add in another 11,2000 wounded, some permanently, and one has a counter-recruiting poster. The stop-loss orders that prevent discharge for troops who've completed their service don't help. And that's the problem the Army and Marines will continue to have. In this war, squids and flyboys have a much better chance of coming home alive than grunts and jarheads.


© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
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