How much longer will Bush and the DemocraPs be able to salute or wonderful fighting men when they are letting in any dreg of society that walks through the door?
I'm getting the BIG STENCH of a DRAFT, folks!
"Stepped-up Army recruiting enlists many with problems" by Bryan Bender/Boston Globe November 27, 2007
WASHINGTON - Two weeks ago, the Pentagon announced the "good news" that the Army had met its recruiting goal for October, the first month in a five-year plan to add 65,000 new soldiers to the ranks by 2012.
But Pentagon statistics show the Army met that goal by accepting a higher percentage of enlistees with criminal records, drug or alcohol problems, or health conditions that would have ordinarily disqualified them from service.
In each fiscal year since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, statisics show, the Army has accepted a growing percentage of recruits who do not meet its own minimum fitness standards. The October statistics show that at least 1 of every 5 recruits required a waiver to join the service, leading military analysts to conclude that the Army is lowering standards more than it has in decades.
John D. Hutson, a retired rear admiral, dean of the Franklin Pierce Law Center, and a former judge advocate general of the Navy:
"The across-the-board lowering of the standards is buying problems in the future. You are going to have more people getting in trouble, more people washing out [of the service before finishing their tour of duty]."
But, but, but... they are all AmeriKan heroes and such good boys and girls?
At least the Army will get back the bonuses they paid out, right?
The Army Recruiting Command, based in Fort Knox, Ky., insists that it carefully reviews each applicant.
The command, in a statement to the Globe:
"We look at the recent history, such as employment, schooling, references, and signs of remorse and changed behavior since the incident occurred [on how recruits with criminal records are regarded]."
But Senator Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat and influential chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he is concerned that the the Army is sacrificing quality for quantity.
Levin, at a Nov. 15 congressional hearing:
"While quantity is of course important, quality must remain the highest priority. The Army must continue to uphold high standards - moral, intellectual, and physical - for new recruits, to ensure that these young men and women are capable of handling the great demands that they will face . . . We must find a way to both increase the size of the Army and to maintain its standards."
And that would be a DRAFT, wouldn't be, Carl?
Anxious to reduce the strain the Iraq war has placed on ground forces, Congress earlier this year approved the Pentagon's proposal to bring the active-duty Army to at least 547,000 troops, an increase of 65,000 and the biggest buildup of conventional forces since the end of the Cold War. The plan is predicted to cost as much as $70 billion.
And just WHERE exactly are all these fresh troops going to come from?
Of course, AmeriKa doesn't need that WAR money for anything else, right?
This country is over, readers!
Army leaders say they are on pace to complete the expansion two years early by beefing up recruiting efforts and offering mid-level officers and enlisted soldiers bonuses of up to $35,000 if they reenlist.
But the recruiting data for October show that accepting applicants who would previously have been disqualified is likely to be a key way of reaching the numbers, according to Hutson and a military recruiting analyst.
Our military is going to suck soon! Nothing more than criminals and killers!
The 2007 figure was the largest percentage of recruits admitted on waivers since the Iraq war began. The data, which include active-duty soldiers as well as Army reservists, show that the percentage of waivers for recruits with criminal records more than doubled in the past few years, from 4.6 percent in 2003 to 11.2 percent in 2007.
Those "moral character waivers" must be approved by an officer the rank of lieutenant colonel or higher. The share of new recruits granted waivers for medical reasons, such as failing Army physical fitness standards or for testing positive for marijuana or cocaine use, has also soared in the past five years.
Yup, druggies, criminals, ANYONE who can hold a gun, huh? Yeah, the greatest fighting force ever!
And am I ever tired of bullshit propaganda about how great our young men and women in uniform are being shoveled at us!
The percentage of medical waivers more than doubled, from 4.1 percent in 2003 to 8.6 percent last month. Drug or alcohol abuse waivers increased by half, from 1 percent in 2003 to 1.5 percent last month.
Medical waivers can be granted for a host of physical deficiencies, including being overweight - as long as the condition is not progressive, will not be aggravated by military service, will not impede a recruit's ability to train, and will not jeopardize comrades' safety.
I'm smelling a very desperate army, folks!
Drug and alcohol waivers are granted by the head of the recruiting command to applicants who test positive for marijuana no more than twice and cocaine no more than once in tests given during the recruiting process.
Although the Army has pledged to accept only quality recruits, military analysts predict the percentage of recruits admitted on waivers will keep rising with the demand for more soldiers.
You getting that DRAFT stench, too, readers?
One more war started by Bush, and you are getting one whether you want it or not!
Recruiters "have a tough year ahead of them," said Beth Asch, an economist at the government-funded Rand Corporation who specializes in military recruiting issues.
Asch believes that despite the Army's assurances, an independent body should "spot-check" the waiver approval process to make sure each recruit has been rehabilitated or is otherwise of high caliber. "I think it needs to be monitored carefully," she said.
But Hutson worries that lower standards "may be the only way we can grow the force."
And how you gonna grow the force? A DRAFT?!
No question about ending wars and cutting back, huh?
Get ready for WWIII, folks!
