Has anyone seen the latest Military Re-Enlistment Statistics?

[TWiley]

I have looked, and I cannot find any. A freeper claims that the re-enlistment rate is very high, and that our rescources are not streched very thin due to the "record" first time enlistment rates.

My instincts say "this is crap" but I would like to find some proof.

Thank you.

[ret5hd]

1. with stop-loss, does it matter what the 're-enlistment' rate is?

with stop-loss, isn't it effectively 100% involuntary re-enlistment?

[hadrons]

7. its the stop-loss driving reenlistment, not love of chimpy .....

Using a little-known provision called "stop loss," the military is forcing reservists and guardsmen to remain on active duty indefinitely. "This is an 'all-volunteer Army' with footnotes," says McPeak. "And it's the footnotes that are being held in Iraq against their wishes. If that's not a back-door draft, tell me what is."

David Qualls, who joined the Arkansas National Guard for a year, is one of 40,000 troops in Iraq who have been informed that their enlistment has been extended until December 24th, 2031. "I've served five months past my one-year obligation," says Qualls, the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging the military with breach of contract. "It's time to let me go back to my life. It's a question of fairness, and not only for myself. This is for the thousands of other people that are involuntarily extended in Iraq. Let us go home."

The Army insists that most "stop-lossed" soldiers will be held on the front lines for no longer than eighteen months. But Jules Lobel, an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights who is representing eight National Guardsmen in a lawsuit challenging the extensions, says the 2031 date is being used to strong-arm volunteers into re-enlisting. According to Lobel, the military is telling soldiers, "We're giving you a chance to voluntarily re-enlist -- and if you don't do it, we'll screw you. And the first way we'll screw you is to put you in until 2031."

....

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/_/id/6862691?rnd=1126714656884&has-player=false

[noahmijo]

2. For one thing if they are so high then answer me this

I don't have time to look for you but here is something to think about: I dunno about your town but here in Tucson almost every billboard is advertising enlisting in the Army or Marines.

Also in every video game magazine I read there are ads to join the military likening it to an experience that is far more than any Xbox action FPS can give you.

Like one DU'er had advertised: "Join The Army! It's like Xbox Only You Die"

[Boomer]

3. I've seen them on DU

But I don't believe them.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

4. I think they lowered the targets.

[Boomer]

5. Bingo

Since they don't publish the target numbers, it's very easy to drop them lower and then claim "success" in meeting them.

A shell game held in a room without light.

[AllegroRondo]

6. Why re-enlistment is so high

Its mostly due to all the Iraq tours. It works something like this:

Lets say you have 6 months left on your current contract. Your unit gets picked to go to Iraq in 3 months, for a one year tour. You are going - there is no way the Army will let you get out halfway through the tour.
So, you either: a) don't re-enlist. The Army involuntarily extends your contract for the time in Iraq plus 3 months. b) re-enlist for 2 years and take the small bonus offered. You end up getting out only 3 months later than scenario a anyway.

[mzteris]

8. here's something

and I don't think he could question the source......

The U.S. Army: The U.S. Armed Forces' desired end strength, especially that of the Army, has become a subject of major concern. Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, and other deployments have heightened military manpower demands, and great apprehension exists that Reserve Components (RCs) especially are experiencing severe recruitment and reenlistment problems.

http://www.army.mil/professionalwriting/volumes/volume3/september_2005/9_05_2.html

*****
Better yet - How about a FAUX news story????

General: Army to Miss Recruiting Goals in '05
Tuesday, August 23, 2005

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army (search) will miss its recruiting goals this year but will be able to sustain troop levels in Iraq over the next four years, a high-ranking general told FOX News.

Lt. Gen. James Lovelace (search), the Army deputy chief of staff, said the Army can sustain 100,000 in Iraq for the next four years if needed without "breaking the force" but he said it would include three or four rotations for some troops.

"We're gonna fall short of our recruiting goal this year. We know that,” Lovelace told FOX News. “We're putting in place mitigation plans to begin to address it in ’06."

((Although this article does say REELISTMENT is record......)
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,166490,00.html


*****

ARMY ANNOUNCES NEW RECRUITING CHIEF AS RECRUITING GOALS LAG
8/18/2005

Tuesday the Army announced that the Army Recruiting Command Headquarters will have a new commanding general effective Oct. 12, Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick . . . This change of command occurs as the army is facing one of its toughest recruiting periods.

The monthly goals of both June and July were met, but the Army still has a long way to go before reaching the FY 2005 goal of 80,000 recruits. The Army, As of July 25, has achieved only 55,207 of that objective, a shortfall of 24,793.

The Army Reserve goal for FY 2005 is 22,175 and, as of July 25, the Army Reserve has recruited 15,334. The Army Reserve lacks 6,841 to reach their FY 2005 goal.

The Army has taken several steps to increase the numbers of recruits. First, recruiting incentives have increased, some to the highest levels ever. Current incentives the Army include:

http://www.fednews-online.com/view_publication.aspx?publicationId=8250




*****
Stat chart.......

http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2005/nr20050810-4393.html

*******


July Recruiting, Retention Figures Reflect Continued Success
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 10, 2005 –

. . . But he acknowledged that across-the-board recruiting successes in June and July may not be enough to make up for springtime slumps when the services, particularly the Army, tally up their year-end recruiting numbers. "Success for the year is still going to be a challenge," he said.

Summer months always are better recruiting months than springtime, with new high school graduates providing a larger potential recruiting pool, Carr said.

In addition, a boost in the number of recruiters and the incentives they can offer for joining the military is paying off, Carr said. DoD has asked Congress to increase the top enlistment bonuses beyond $20,000, and Carr said he expects this request, once approved, to further help military recruitment.

A continuing problem confronting recruiters is that adults who influence young people's decision to join the military - parents, teachers, coaches and others - are 9 to 10 percent less likely than in the past to recommend military service. As a result, Carr said, recruitment efforts are increasingly addressing not just potential recruits, but also their influencers, many whose only exposure to the military is based on what they see on television or in the movies.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Aug2005/20050810_2387.html

*****

Although, I seem to remember hearing back in the summer - that they had LOWERED their quotas to make it look like they were meeting them. I'm sure I heard that on NPR and maybe on here?

*****

ALSO: This article (following) has nothing to do - overtly- with the issue - no stats or anything, but fascinating reading, nonetheless........

http://www.army.mil/professionalwriting/volumes/volume1/september_2003/9_03_2.html

[mzteris]

9. Ref to lowering the quota

After Lowering Goal, Army Falls Short on May Recruits
By ERIC SCHMITT
Published: June 8, 2005

WASHINGTON, June 7 - Even after reducing its recruiting target for May, the Army missed it by about 25 percent, Army officials said on Tuesday. The shortfall would have been even bigger had the Army stuck to its original goal for the month.

. . . Early last month, the Army, with no public notice, lowered its long-stated May goal to 6,700 recruits from 8,050. Compared with the original target, the Army achieved only 62.6 percent of its goal for the month.

Army officials defended the shift on Tuesday, saying it was not uncommon to change monthly goals at midyear. They said that the latest change reflected the reality that the Army was not going to meet its May goal, and that it made more sense to shift some of that quota to the summer months, traditionally a better season for recruiters to attract new high school graduates.

"We typically reallocate monthly goals during the course of the year," said Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, an Army spokesman, who said that the Army still expected to meet its overall annual goal of shipping 80,000 new recruits to boot camp. "The summer is relatively easier for recruiting."

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/08/politics/08recruit.html?ei=5090&en=f79f57d55b8ded83&ex=1275883200&adxnnl=1&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1126715353-SuIK7qWN1eYJLRLmDA+v+g