US Army seeks longer enlistments as recruitment falters

[NNN0LHI]

http://news.inq7.net/world/index.php?index=1&story_id=30824

WASHINGTON, District of Columbia, United States of America -- The US Army has asked Congress to allow it to extend enlistment contracts offered to future soldiers by two years in order to "stabilize the force," as top defense officials warned that key recruitment targets for the year could be missed.

The request came as the House of Representatives on Wednesday put its stamp of approval on an 81.4-billion-dollar supplemental spending bill that contains new benefits for US troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But the new money notwithstanding, Army Deputy Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Franklin Hagenbeck told a House subcommittee that yearly recruitment goals for the Army reserve and the National Guard were "at risk."

"In the manning area, we need Congress to change the maximum enlistment time from six years to eight years in order to help stabilize the force for longer periods of time," Hagenbeck went on to say.

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[GodlessBiker]

1. That's right. If you want to sell more lemonade, raise the price.

[Dhalgren]

7. Yeah, they aught to go the other way.

Tell the new recruits that they only have to stay in for two years, then apply "stop-loss" and they are in forever...

[DemoTex]

2. That will bring them running!

I hope the Army is ready for the thundering herds that will want to give eight years of their lives to the Bu$h war machine.

:eyes:

[ET Awful]

3. Ummm, the enlistment term IS 8 years, doesn't matter how long

they sign up for, they're owned for 8 years by Uncle Sam.

Even if they sign up for 4 years active, 4 inactive, they are still on inactive ready reserve status for the final 4 years (or 6 and 2, 2 and 4, etc.).

As we've already witnessed, this inactive period is irrelevant, since they are activating inactive ready reserve troops anyway.

Thy're just blowing more smoke trying to prepare folks for a draft.

[NNN0LHI]

8. Sounds like they want to make it 8 years of active "plus" more to me? n/t

[ET Awful]

10. No, I think it's just a smokescreen

There is no current option for having all of your time be active-duty when you enlist. The most you can initially enlist for is 6 active, 2 inactive.

They can call you at any time for any reason during the inactive period. This appears to simply eliminate the inactive period from your initial enlistment.

Not that they'll get many takers.

Perhaps their thinking is that if they can throw up this smokescreen, fewer people will mention the "backdoor draft" that is occurring, since they can throw up this "8 year enlistment" as a distraction.

[NNN0LHI]

4. Seeing they are taking guys who can't even graduate high school...

...this just might work on them?

Don

http://www.detnews.com/2005/nation/0503/13/A01-115683.htm

Dropout recruits raise Army quality concerns

[Walt Starr]

5. How much longer than forever is there?

:shrug:

Stop Loss is basically an enlistment for as long as the Army wants to keep you, fer Krissakes!

[gratuitous]

6. Darn that Bill Clinton!

During all that peace and prosperity of the 90s, getting a job, buying a house and raising a family just got to be too easy, and the military suffered. We didn't have enough troops on hand for all of Stupidhead's elective wars of aggression, now we have to bribe folks with more and more money, and induce them to stay for longer and longer hitches if we're going to build the American Empire! It's all Clinton's fault!

And is my understanding correct? You sign up for eight years, four years active, four years reserve, but as long as your unit remains active in Iraq or Afghanistan or any other war zones the Bush administration creates in the years to come, you can be retained even beyond your eight year obligation?

[DoYouEverWonder]

9. Why is this a problem?

Where are all those pro-war freepers or all those folks who supposedly voted for W and his wars? You would think with such a 'popular' president that the kids would be lining up around the block to go fight?

[Tempest]

11. You watch, they'll make this retroactive

Those already in the services will be forced to serve an additional 2 years of active service.


Increasing the number of years will do nothing to help recruitment.

[rocktivity]

12. That may make the forces more stable,

but what about the soldiers themselves?

:headbang:
rocknation

[Ernesto]

13. fuck em

after all, they're just "labor".

[unhappycamper]

14. did my 9 years, 9 months and 6 days including

two tours of duty in RVN. Got out in March 1973. I wonder if the miserable fucks will try to reactivate me?