US Army making recruiting targets

[icelord]

Army Achieving Recruiting, Retention Goals Early
September 21, 2006

The U.S. Army will meet its fiscal year 2006 active recruiting goal of 80,000 on Sept. 22. The Secretary of the Army, the Hon. Dr. Francis J. Harvey, will conduct a ceremonial enlistment of the 80,000th recruit at the Times Square Recruiting Station in New York City Friday.

Shirley Salvi, 23, a graduate of Rutgers University with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Biology, will enlist and receive language training before assignment as a Signals Intelligence Analyst or a Cryptologic Linguist.

The Army Reserve and the Army National Guard also anticipate meeting their annual recruiting-mission goals this fiscal year, by the end of September.

The Active Army and the Army National Guard previously announced they had met their annual retention missions. The Army Reserve expects to meet its retention mission in the next week.

Specific fiscal year 2006 Army recruiting and retention numbers will be announced by Oct. 10.


I felt this needed posting, since every news outlet here felt that the US not making recruiting last year was big news, but forgot about this year.
So, in the year thats gone, what has changed, the US is still getting its arse kicked in Iraq(don't argue, u know its true:argue ) yet more people are willing to join, do they get a bonus if they live or something

 

[Big-E]

I felt this needed posting, since every news outlet here felt that the US not making recruiting last year was big news, but forgot about this year.

Of course they forget about it, always reporting the negative but never the positive. Sometimes I don't know who our biggest enemy is... them or the Jihad.

 

[Ranari]

News agencies report what people want to hear, and unfortunately, that's blood, guts, and shock & awe. If we really want to change the news agencies and what they keep reporting, we're going to have to take a hard look on what we, as individuals, put our values on first.

 

[Todjaeger]

News agencies report what people want to hear, and unfortunately, that's blood, guts, and shock & awe. If we really want to change the news agencies and what they keep reporting, we're going to have to take a hard look on what we, as individuals, put our values on first.

Indeed, a US filmmaker/author who shal remain nameless (since he tends to incite people) did a movie a few years about about guns & violence in the US. One of the things he did in the movie was take the US media to task about news reporting. On the news there had been something like a 60% increase on reporting for murders, at the same time the nation overall had a decline in the number of murders. The motto a newscaster mentioned when asked was, "if it bleeds, it leads" since people were more likely to watch. It definately makes one wonder...

 

[icelord]

Indeed, a US filmmaker/author who shal remain nameless (since he tends to incite people) did a movie a few years about about guns & violence in the US. One of the things he did in the movie was take the US media to task about news reporting. On the news there had been something like a 60% increase on reporting for murders, at the same time the nation overall had a decline in the number of murders.

This would be the same fat guy who well, lied throughout the entire film and his various others projects, so if he did attack the media, he would have just screwed it up, maybe a positive for the rest of us.

The motto a newscaster mentioned when asked was, "if it bleeds, it leads" since people were more likely to watch. It definately makes one wonder...

the newscaster had a remarkable similarity with actor Kelsey Grammer

 

[LancerMc]

I would like to point out, one of the reason why the Army is making the quota this year is because they no longer require an intelligence exam to enter the army, but just a diploma or GED.

 

[bd popeye]

The USN, USAF, USCG and USMC make their quota almost always. But that never gets reported by the US media..

I would like to point out, one of the reason why the Army is making the quota this year is because they no longer require an intelligence exam to enter the army, but just a diploma or GED.

Not true. The Army is taking a % of those with lower test scores but that's all. Where does the SecUSA say that the test have been suspended???

https://www.roa.org/military_section/army_detail.asp?id=3718

Taking Exception Army Adheres To Recruiting Guidelines
posted 4/25/2006

Re: "Army lowers recruit standards," April 7:

This story draws wrong conclusions about the Army's recruiting standards and from my testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee in February. U.S. Army recruits serve our nation by answering the call of duty at a critical time for our country. The least-qualified category of applicants is not a "reject pool." Our soldiers are a cross section of America. The Army has always accepted a percentage of its recruits from this category.

The article implies that it is a disturbing trend that the number of recruits from the least-qualified category will increase 16 percent this year, from 2,476 in fiscal 2005 to 2,873. The number has risen because of an increase in the number of either actual or planned recruits from 2005 to 2006. The Army complies with the Department of Defense standard for allowable recruits from this category, which is 4 percent. So the increase from 2005 to 2006 is purely a function of the larger recruiting total.

The reported increase from 2001 to 2005 of soldiers accepted with some kind of waiver of the normal recruiting standards is correct, but misleading. The total percentage has increased overall because the number of recruits with a waiver for a medical issue or a misdemeanor has increased. However, these waivers are only granted after a thorough medial review or a review of the misdemeanor offense. More important, during this same period, the number of recruits requiring a waiver because of serious criminal misconduct or for drug and alcohol issues declined by 33 percent.

I continue to be proud of our soldiers, who volunteer to go into harm's way to protect our free way of life.

Francis J. Harvey, Secretary of the U.S. Army, Washington

Editor's Note: The article by Jeff St. Onge and Jon Steinman appeared in the Current News Early Bird, April 7, 2006.

 

[icelord]

.

The least-qualified category of applicants is not a "reject pool.

Funny, same thing was said when they dropped the standard a little for ADF, asthma, higher BMI, they are still level headed and expected to meet psych and educational requirments.

 

[dioditto]

While I was reading some report on recruitement, it kinda occurs to me as to why US was able to meet the recruitment target while Australia wasn't.

"Meanwhile, President Bush chops away at the domestic budget, even cutting back funds for cancer research, veterans, and education. Several million Americans are homeless. Forty million do not have medical insurance. Thirty million slave at jobs that do not pay them enough to afford decent housing. Millions of potentially valuable young people cannot afford to start college. And the man responsible for much of today’s record $8-trillion national debt, as part of his plan to gut Social Security"

http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/view/4064/1/210/


The policy Bush have pushed in the past few years, pushing for cutback in health care, education, and increasing the disparity between the rich and the poor, may very well have been intentional. These effect couple with the fact of ever increasing cost of health care and education in general and the standard cost of living, is the driving force for a lot of americans joining the military. It is enhanced with the constant stated threat of "terrorism" which fuels the recruitement drive.

 

[bd popeye]

The policy Bush have pushed in the past few years, pushing for cutback in health care, education, and increasing the disparity between the rich and the poor, may very well have been intentional. These effect couple with the fact of ever increasing cost of health care and education in general and the standard cost of living, is the driving force for a lot of americans joining the military. It is enhanced with the constant stated threat of "terrorism" which fuels the recruitement drive.

This is absolutely ludricous thinking. People are not beating down the doors to join the US Armed forces simply because of the reasons you stated. I have a friend that is a USN recruiter here in Iowa. He says it take 10-12 indivdual interviews to get just one person qualified just to take the test to join the military. And that one person may or may not qualify. Most people joining the USN nowadays are looking for some educational benifet , cash bonus or adventure, travel ETC...

By the way I saw a program on Tv last week stating the number of applictions for college in the US are setting records each and every year. Kinda puts the kibosh on your theroy. Check that yahoo search below....

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=re...006&prssweb=Search&ei=UTF-8&fr=slv8-yme&x=wrt

Your theory is absolutely incorrect. There are many varied reasons why people join the US Armed services. Pres. Bush has nothing to do with causing people to join the US armed forces. Grown people make there own indivdual decisions based on their own personal circumstances.

 

[Waylander]

It is not the same these days to get recruits for the USN or USAF than for USA or USMC.

 

[dioditto]

This is absolutely ludricous thinking. People are not beating down the doors to join the US Armed forces simply because of the reasons you stated. I have a friend that is a USN recruiter here in Iowa. He says it take 10-12 indivdual interviews to get just one person qualified just to take the test to join the military. And that one person may or may not qualify. Most people joining the USN nowadays are looking for some educational benifet , cash bonus or adventure, travel ETC...

You said it yourself. People join the military because large proportion of them cannot afford college, or the money to travel oversea. The military provides all these, which reaffirm my theory.

In today's increasingly sophiscated army, it requires highly educated, sophiscated personnels as the 21st century fighting force. This in turn means competition with corporate sectors of the same talent pool. (doctors, scientists, engineers, technicians, college graduates)


If my theory is NOT the case, tell me how do you fill the recruitment quota of a highly educated, high living standard society where average salary is a lot higher than what goverment is willing to pay?? If EVERYONE is all very well off, living comfortably, how do you get people to join the military in an all volunteered army? What would prompt people to forgo good salary, family life; and instead, living in constant fear of a hostile environment, doing an often repetitive menial task, with the risk of getting maimed for life, or even killed??

How do you get intelligent, computer-savvy youth who will be needed to operate or command the operators of an army’s future high-tech equipment to give up the chance for a high-paying job and benefits to join the army? How do you get a college graduate— who traditionally could earn enough to hire a gardener if desired—to willingly waddle in the mud and rain, freeze at night, and bake during the day, just so he can lead a platoon in digging out irrigation ditches in the middle of nowhere?


Tell me how?

Your theory is absolutely incorrect. There are many varied reasons why people join the US Armed services. Pres. Bush has nothing to do with causing people to join the US armed forces. Grown people make there own indivdual decisions based on their own personal circumstances.

By KEEPING the economic disparity, it may in turn, translate to a percentage of populations living in "unfavourable" personal circumstances, which the army becomes the most obvious venue of their solution.

 

[icelord]

Dio dio dio...SMACK!
America already has its own poor an stupid without bushs help. Hell, he made it.
He could make the US have the highest education standard and they'd still get people into the US Forces because see, they are very patriotic and so on, smart people go through to go to college cheaper, and some stay on to rise up the ranks to Generals, which explains some of their Iraq tactics, too many smart people can spoil a plan. Any idiot could point out they need a new way, hell i think bush just suggested it.

 

[dioditto]

Dio dio dio...SMACK!
America already has its own poor an stupid without bushs help. Hell, he made it.
He could make the US have the highest education standard and they'd still get people into the US Forces because see, they are very patriotic and so on, smart people go through to go to college cheaper, and some stay on to rise up the ranks to Generals, which explains some of their Iraq tactics, too many smart people can spoil a plan. Any idiot could point out they need a new way, hell i think bush just suggested it.

Smart people also don't want to die

and
“Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious.” —Oscar Wilde

 

[Capt. Picard]

Sometimes I don't know who our biggest enemy is... them or the Jihad.

Haha! Some would say your biggest enemy is yourself.

 

[Sea Toby]

The truth of the matter is that the military trains to win wars and fight battles. They do a poor job setting up other nations governments, or prop up foreign governments. Our military has done a great job in Iraq. Unfortunately, our politicians nor the Iraqi politicians have done a very good job setting up a government in Iraq supported by its people, or its religious factions.

We should have been gone from Iraq within two years. Either Iraq's leaders get on with it, making the compromises needed to stop the insurrection, or get out of the way for someone else.

 

[bd popeye]

dioditto;

If my theory is NOT the case, tell me how do you fill the recruitment quota of a highly educated, high living standard society where average salary is a lot higher than what goverment is willing to pay?? If EVERYONE is all very well off, living comfortably, how do you get people to join the military in an all volunteered army? What would prompt people to forgo good salary, family life; and instead, living in constant fear of a hostile environment, doing an often repetitive menial task, with the risk of getting maimed for life, or even killed??

How do you get intelligent, computer-savvy youth who will be needed to operate or command the operators of an army’s future high-tech equipment to give up the chance for a high-paying job and benefits to join the army? How do you get a college graduate— who traditionally could earn enough to hire a gardener if desired—to willingly waddle in the mud and rain, freeze at night, and bake during the day, just so he can lead a platoon in digging out irrigation ditches in the middle of nowhere?

Tell me how?

Icelord said it already. Patroitism. Something you probally do not understand. Many join because they are willing to make sacrafices so other Americans can live in freedom and peace. It's that simple.

 

[dioditto]

dioditto;
Icelord said it already. Patroitism. Something you probally do not understand. Many join because they are willing to make sacrafices so other Americans can live in freedom and peace. It's that simple.

I doubt you understand word patriotism since you are probably so brainwashed you no longer know the true meaning of it.

Second of all, Patriotism only works when there is an external threat. Without external threat, people would not naturally want to join the military. This is why the war on terror, a war that is becoming the "perpetual war" is so important.

 

[icelord]

Second of all, Patriotism only works when there is an external threat. Without external threat, people would not naturally want to join the military. This is why the war on terror, a war that is becoming the "perpetual war" is so important.

Dio, mate, for some strange arse reason people still join the Swiss and Swedish Forces, so you may not be spot on there. And if you were right, then Recruitment here would be sweet as, people have joined the forces for a better lifestyle and in Aus its for Tradition, many of those who serve are sons, grandsons or greatgrandsons ( and daughters) of Soldiers who served before them, so their patriotism is led by their family Tradition and Values, which is just as big an effect in the USA.

 

[dioditto]

Dio, mate, for some strange arse reason people still join the Swiss and Swedish Forces, so you may not be spot on there. And if you were right, then Recruitment here would be sweet as, people have joined the forces for a better lifestyle and in Aus its for Tradition, many of those who serve are sons, grandsons or greatgrandsons ( and daughters) of Soldiers who served before them, so their patriotism is led by their family Tradition and Values, which is just as big an effect in the USA.

Hey mate, howzit

Unless I am mistaken, I think you should read the following articles yourself.

Sweden's military is built on conscription, and until the end of the Cold War nearly all males reaching the age of military service were conscripted. In recent years, the number of conscripted males has reduced dramatically, while the number of female volunteers has increased slightly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_Sweden


18-32 years of age obligatorily
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_Switzerland