COUNTERING MILITARY RECRUITMENT
Articles: Military Recruiting: Personnel Crunch
When military recruiting becomes a 'win big' pitch
News-Journal Online
September 11, 2007
American forces are holding 24,500 suspected insurgents in variousprisons in Iraq. "Interestingly, " Navy Capt. John Fleming, spokesman
for the occupation forces' prison network, told reporters, "we've
found that the vast majority are not inspired by jihad or hate for
the coalition or Iraqi government. The vast majority are inspired by money."
Is it any different for American soldiers?
By any measure, the war in Iraq is unpopular. If the war is so
unpopular, how is the military still managing to recruit new soldiers
and re-enlist veterans? The answer is that the Pentagon is struggling
to meet its recruitment goals, while meeting them has required hugely
increasing signing and re-signing bonuses.
Here's what a young recruit will see flashing on the Army's Web site
in message after message: "Start your Army Strong training within 30
days of enlisting and you could get an extra $20,000." "More than
$50,000 in benefits now available with many Two-Year Plus Training
Enlistment options." "Talk to your local recruiter and learn how you
can register to win an iPod." "Are you aware that you may be eligible
for up to $40,000 in bonuses and $72,900 for college?
The signing bonuses are often more than a full year's salary. The
numbers are equally impressive for those already in the Army. The
military needs to hold on to soldiers if it's to bank on experience.
The Army's re-enlistment goal for 2007 (the year ends on Sept. 30) is
62,200 soldiers. It wasn't going well. So three times since June the
Army tweaked its list of criteria, enhancing bonus eligibility.
Through July, 56,951 soldiers had re-enlisted, most of them, Army
Times reported, for some kind of bonus or assignment option. To
qualify for bonuses of up to $33,500, soldiers must have between 17
months and 14 years of service and agree to extend their active duty
by up to six years.
A recent Government Accountability Office report shows that based on
2005 figures (the latest available) the Army spent $13.5 million in
re-enlistment bonuses just for its officer corps; the Marine Corps
spent $18.7 million, the Navy $129 million, and the Air Force $203
million -- just for officers.
Money, obviously, plays a big role in enlisting or retaining
soldiers. In a military that relies heavily on working class
recruits, the promise of an immediate $20,000 signing bonus that can
be used to erase debts, buy a car or put money down on a home can be
hard to resist no matter the desert storms and IEDs the soldier may
face in return.
It's a new form of lottery, sometimes deadly, sometimes deceptive. Of
course, the Pentagon is entitled to use whatever means it has to
recruit and retain soldiers (although the GAO report noted that those
bonus programs lack proper oversight). But the public should also be
fully aware of how the military is managing to keep its ranks full.
Military commercials project an aura of idealism and service. For
many, the inspiration may be a lot more immediate and basic than
that. You could call the inspiration predatory.
Unpopular War
· New York Times/CBS News poll released this week: 62 percent of
Americans think getting involved in Iraq was a mistake, 64 percent
say things are going badly there; 71 percent disapprove of the way
President Bush, the commander in chief, is handling the war.
· February 2006 Zogby poll: 72 percent of American troops serving in
Iraq thought that the United States should withdraw within a year; 23
percent said they should stay "as long as they are needed."
· Last December, a poll of soldiers by Military Times: 41 percent
said the war was just.
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