Accord Posted June 11, 2005 Share Posted June 11, 2005 WASHINGTON ? The Army wants to double the top cash bonus for new recruits to $40,000 in an effort to stem a continued recruiting shortfall in the midst of the Iraq war. As another incentive, the Army is proposing a pilot program to provide up to $50,000 in home mortgage help for recruits who sign up for eight years of active duty, Lt. Col. Thomas Collins said in an interview Thursday. Congress must approve both plans. The $40,000 bonuses would apply only to a limited number of hard-to-fill and still-undetermined jobs, Collins said. The Army raised bonuses for some jobs to $20,000 in 1999. It has steadily made more jobs eligible for bonuses this year as the recruiting shortfall has deepened. Secretary of the Army Francis Harvey first raised the proposals during an appearance Tuesday, Collins said. They have not been sent to Congress. The incentives have surfaced as the Army confirmed an account in The New York Times this week that it fell about 25% short of its May goal of 6,700 recruits, the fourth consecutive month the service has failed to meet its target. The Army is running about 17% short of its annual recruiting goal of 80,000. At that pace, it will fall almost 14,000 recruits short for its fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. Initial congressional reaction was positive, although Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said the proposals would not fix a "chronic" recruiting problem. Graham, a former Air Force officer who serves on the Armed Services Committee, said the Pentagon needs a comprehensive strategy on recruiting and retention. That would include more troops, better benefits for Army National guardsmen and reservists and a more focused pitch to potential recruits that military service is vital to the winning the global war on terror. Without them, Graham said, "we're in a world of hurt." Rep. Ike Skelton of Missouri, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said he would favor increased bonuses but believes they will help "minimally." Skelton said he believes the Army will fall short of its year-end recruiting goal. Army spokesman Paul Boyce said a busy summer will help the service meet its recruiting goals. As U.S. deaths in Iraq approach 1,700, the Army has also offered enlistment hitches as short as 15 months. Maj. Gen. Michael Rochelle, the head of U.S. Army Recruiting Command, last month described the recruiting environment as "the toughest ever faced by the all-volunteer Army." The Pentagon will release May recruiting figures for all military branches today. Army National Guard and Reserve recruiting is behind as well; each was about 20% short of its goal at the end of April, Harvey said. The Army also said Thursday that it will ease requirements for new officers by accepting older candidates and being more tolerant of past minor crimes. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-0...y-bonuses_x.htm $40,000 is crazy, i'm sure that'll attract a lot of people who otherwise never would have even considered the Army. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted June 11, 2005 Share Posted June 11, 2005 No, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Fritz Posted June 11, 2005 Share Posted June 11, 2005 Interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Das Texan Posted June 11, 2005 Share Posted June 11, 2005 If it involves me participating in Bush's little stupid skirmish in Iraq where we had no 'real' business invading that nation, the no way in hell do i sign on the line thats dotted even if i were 18. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildMarlinMan2003 Posted June 11, 2005 Share Posted June 11, 2005 If it involves me participating in Bush's little stupid skirmish in Iraq where we had no 'real' business invading that nation, the no way in hell do i sign on the line thats dotted even if i were 18. 805704[/snapback] You are in the minority. :lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Das Texan Posted June 11, 2005 Share Posted June 11, 2005 If it involves me participating in Bush's little stupid skirmish in Iraq where we had no 'real' business invading that nation, the no way in hell do i sign on the line thats dotted even if i were 18. 805704[/snapback] You are in the minority. :lol 805727[/snapback] if i was truly in the minority then there wouldnt be a shortage like this. people would be busting through the recruitment office doors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Accord Posted June 12, 2005 Author Share Posted June 12, 2005 If it involves me participating in Bush's little stupid skirmish in Iraq where we had no 'real' business invading that nation, the no way in hell do i sign on the line thats dotted even if i were 18. 805704[/snapback] You are in the minority. :lol 805727[/snapback] if i was truly in the minority then there wouldnt be a shortage like this. people would be busting through the recruitment office doors. 805746[/snapback] Poor logic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarlinFan10 Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 You would think college scholarships would be enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Das Texan Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 If it involves me participating in Bush's little stupid skirmish in Iraq where we had no 'real' business invading that nation, the no way in hell do i sign on the line thats dotted even if i were 18. 805704[/snapback] You are in the minority. :lol 805727[/snapback] if i was truly in the minority then there wouldnt be a shortage like this. people would be busting through the recruitment office doors. 805746[/snapback] Poor logic. 806027[/snapback] why? oh ya...cause people will say how much they love this war but yet dont have the balls to actually stand up for this and sign the dotted line and represent this nation in war. i forgot, people say one thing and do the exact opposite, cause they lack any real integrity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Accord Posted June 12, 2005 Author Share Posted June 12, 2005 If it involves me participating in Bush's little stupid skirmish in Iraq where we had no 'real' business invading that nation, the no way in hell do i sign on the line thats dotted even if i were 18. 805704[/snapback] You are in the minority. :lol 805727[/snapback] if i was truly in the minority then there wouldnt be a shortage like this. people would be busting through the recruitment office doors. 805746[/snapback] Poor logic. 806027[/snapback] why? oh ya...cause people will say how much they love this war but yet dont have the balls to actually stand up for this and sign the dotted line and represent this nation in war. i forgot, people say one thing and do the exact opposite, cause they lack any real integrity. 806140[/snapback] You do realize you can serve your country in 4 other branches not named the Army, right? You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. The Navy and Air Force are actually having to turn people away and are only accepting only the most qualified recruits and the Marine Corps is not having any problems and has consistently met and exceeded recruiting goals all throughout the war. The only branch with a problem is the Army, and you're acting as if the Army is the ONLY branch of service that exists, and I hate when people do that. There are 5 branches and only one of them is struggling with recruiting problems. Also, you can attribute the poor recruiting numbers in the Army to the sleazebag recruiters with no morals. The Army actually had to halt recruiting for a day to give ALL recruiters a refresher course in what is and isn't acceptable and whatnot because so many of them have been busted for fraudulently enlisting new soldiers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice Man Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 If it involves me participating in Bush's little stupid skirmish in Iraq where we had no 'real' business invading that nation, the no way in hell do i sign on the line thats dotted even if i were 18. 805704[/snapback] You are in the minority. :lol 805727[/snapback] if i was truly in the minority then there wouldnt be a shortage like this. people would be busting through the recruitment office doors. 805746[/snapback] Poor logic. 806027[/snapback] why? oh ya...cause people will say how much they love this war but yet dont have the balls to actually stand up for this and sign the dotted line and represent this nation in war. i forgot, people say one thing and do the exact opposite, cause they lack any real integrity. 806140[/snapback] You do realize you can serve your country in 4 other branches not named the Army, right? You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. The Navy and Air Force are actually having to turn people away and are only accepting only the most qualified recruits and the Marine Corps is not having any problems and has consistently met and exceeded recruiting goals all throughout the war. The only branch with a problem is the Army, and you're acting as if the Army is the ONLY branch of service that exists, and I hate when people do that. There are 5 branches and only one of them is struggling with recruiting problems. Also, you can attribute the poor recruiting numbers in the Army to the sleazebag recruiters with no morals. The Army actually had to halt recruiting for a day to give ALL recruiters a refresher course in what is and isn't acceptable and whatnot because so many of them have been busted for fraudulently enlisting new soldiers. 806255[/snapback] He's right. Since I've been in the DEP in the AF, I've seen my recruiter turn people away numerous times. She's sent them next door, to the Army... The Army has had recruiting problems for ages, so it doesn't suprise me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Accord Posted June 12, 2005 Author Share Posted June 12, 2005 If it involves me participating in Bush's little stupid skirmish in Iraq where we had no 'real' business invading that nation, the no way in hell do i sign on the line thats dotted even if i were 18. 805704[/snapback] You are in the minority. :lol 805727[/snapback] if i was truly in the minority then there wouldnt be a shortage like this. people would be busting through the recruitment office doors. 805746[/snapback] Poor logic. 806027[/snapback] why? oh ya...cause people will say how much they love this war but yet dont have the balls to actually stand up for this and sign the dotted line and represent this nation in war. i forgot, people say one thing and do the exact opposite, cause they lack any real integrity. 806140[/snapback] You do realize you can serve your country in 4 other branches not named the Army, right? You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. The Navy and Air Force are actually having to turn people away and are only accepting only the most qualified recruits and the Marine Corps is not having any problems and has consistently met and exceeded recruiting goals all throughout the war. The only branch with a problem is the Army, and you're acting as if the Army is the ONLY branch of service that exists, and I hate when people do that. There are 5 branches and only one of them is struggling with recruiting problems. Also, you can attribute the poor recruiting numbers in the Army to the sleazebag recruiters with no morals. The Army actually had to halt recruiting for a day to give ALL recruiters a refresher course in what is and isn't acceptable and whatnot because so many of them have been busted for fraudulently enlisting new soldiers. 806255[/snapback] He's right. Since I've been in the DEP in the AF, I've seen my recruiter turn people away numerous times. She's sent them next door, to the Army... The Army has had recruiting problems for ages, so it doesn't suprise me. 806260[/snapback] Exactly, the Army has always had recruiting problems. I'm pretty sure the only time in the past decade where the Army did not have recruiting problems was a period of ~6-12 months right after 9/11. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying_Mollusk Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 Last time I checked the Navy and Air Force arent the one's facing off against the insurgents in the streets of Baghdad walking next to cars that could blow you up. And your absolutley wrong about the Army recruiters accord. They face enormous pressure from above to meet recruiting quotas. Thats why they resort to such tactics. Some of them have gone AWOL. And you still havent addressed how das's logic was wrong. If most of the country is so into this war, why are we having such trouble meeting recruitments. I really dont buy the "its the army" argument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BullDurham Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 You do realize you can serve your country in 4 other branches not named the Army, right? You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. The Navy and Air Force are actually having to turn people away and are only accepting only the most qualified recruits Well, now let's figure out why. Is it that they DON'T have a major presence in Iraq and Afghanistan? So says this article anyways: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...MNGS2D78701.DTL "The Air Force and Navy, the two services without a major presence in Iraq or Afghanistan, have met their goals; the Navy enlisted 1,947 members in May and the Air Force, 1,049." Meanwhile... "The Army has been hit the hardest. In May, even after the Army reduced its recruiting goals, it made only 75 percent of its quota, missing its target of 6,700 new troops by 1,661 recruits, the Defense Department said Friday. and the Marine Corps is not having any problems and has consistently met and exceeded recruiting goals all throughout the war. Oh REALLY? Let's go back to that same article: "The Marine Corps, traditionally the service that most easily meets its recruiting goals, has struggled during some periods, although it made its May quota of 1,904." And military analyst Col. (ret.) Jack Jacobs has said, "Even the Marine Corps, who typically has no problem recruiting people, has had difficulty the last few months or so." http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8155830/ And OK, it may be just a few percentage points off, and Gen. Michael Hagee says 2005 is doable for the Marines, but he has also "expressed concern that the Marines could come up short next year if the U.S. military remains as heavily committed in Iraq and the public support for the war continues to drop. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/militar...n27recruit.html And before I go, a personal anecdote: I know a guy who was a Marine who should have never been one in the first place. He was born addicted to pot and had a whole host of psychological problems. Marines let him in anyways. They ended up boiling over sometime later, when some higher-ranking officer antagonized him needlessly, from which he proceeded to beat the living hell out of the officer. It could have been worse, but he was let off with a discharge of some sort (don't remember what it was, but it wasn's less-than-honorable, that's all I know). So if you think Marine recruiters are mere saints compared to the Army recruiters, you are SADLY MISTAKEN! (although, it does bear noting that he wanted to be a Marine). Oh, and in case you don't get the point, people sign up for the Navy and Air Force because it's a ticket out of Iraq/Afghanistan. That's why they don't have problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarlinFan10 Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 The Navy has no recriutment problems because it is awesome and better than the army. :whistle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marlins Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 Risk your life for $40,000? I don't think it'll work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FutureGM Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 I'll pass. My life is worth a lot more than $40 grand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marlins Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 My life is worth a lot more than $40 grand. 806454[/snapback] I sure hope so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Fritz Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 Risk your life for $40,000? I don't think it'll work. 806428[/snapback] You're forced to do it in Israel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Das Texan Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 so then basically its one thing to kiss the ground bush and his cronies walk on in word. but when push comes to shove and its time to support the same man's effort to bring out his vision to the world you say hell no i wont go. hypocritical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 so then basically its one thing to kiss the ground bush and his cronies walk on in word. but when push comes to shove and its time to support the same man's effort to bring out his vision to the world you say hell no i wont go. hypocritical. 806498[/snapback] You're not talking to me are you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Das Texan Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 so then basically its one thing to kiss the ground bush and his cronies walk on in word. but when push comes to shove and its time to support the same man's effort to bring out his vision to the world you say hell no i wont go. hypocritical. 806498[/snapback] You're not talking to me are you? 806532[/snapback] unless you now kiss the ground and the ass of everything bush does, then no i'm not talking to you granted this would be a big change in your philosophies as well.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice Man Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 s***, I'm doing a dangerous job in the Air Force, and I'm getting no Bonus. And a big part of the Air Force is in Iraq. They're sending alot of the Security Forces to that region... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishfan79 Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 no thank you dictator and liar bush. I rather not sell my life for 40k so your families stocks in oil companies and Halaburton(sp) can go up. I lost 2 friends in 911, his not even going after the terrorists but his own ends for his friends and the elite sicken me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legacyofCangelosi Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 no thank you dictator and liar bush. I rather not sell my life for 40k so your families stocks in oil companies and Halaburton(sp) can go up. I lost 2 friends in 911, his not even going after the terrorists but his own ends for his friends and the elite sicken me. 809166[/snapback] Interesting post, I cant recall the last president that hasnt looked out for himself and the elite. Different parties, different interests, with bush its oil and corps, with clinton it was enviromentals and unions. Same s*** different day. Welcome to democracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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