Army still sneakin' 'em in the back door draft
If the war in Iraq is so necessary to our country's very survival, and the US has a population of 300,000,000, why do we have to rely on the same 130,000 Guardsmen and Marines over and over and over again?
But, I guess it's better to keep sending the same people back for a fourth or fifth tour of duty than to re-institute the draft and send the children of the rich and powerful ... because Bush realizes that if the kids of the wealthy had to go, then his excellent little Mess-o-potamian adventure would be over in a heartbeat.
From usatoday.com: WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Army will continue to rely on an unpopular program that forces some soldiers to stay on beyond their retirement or re-enlistment dates, despite repeated pressure from Defense Secretary Robert Gates to reduce and eventually eliminate the practice.[..]"
This backdoor draft is "excused" by righties --"they knew what they were signing up for." Well, no they didn't, the Army is going back on its word.
Stop-loss: A program that forces some soldiers to stay on beyond their retirement or re-enlistment dates ... an involuntary extension. The Army tries to justify it on a legal basis, a paragraph 9(c) which states: "In the event of war, my enlistment in the Armed Forces continues until six (6) months after the war ends, unless my enlistment is ended sooner by the President of the United States."
This is being reviewed in full by our federal court system, it's criticized by many as an abuse of the spirit of the law ... due to the fact that Congress has not yet declared war, we are currently just occupying Iraq.
I had hopes of fair play when one of Robert Gates' first acts as Secretary of Defense was to pen a memo asking commanders to "minimize" the stop-lossing of soldiers.
I still like Gates, because it looks like the army CAN'T stop the back door draft, they have to continue to rely on it because the wheels are coming off as it is.
When this is over, there will be so many soldiers who'll get out and stay out that some kind of military draft will have to be enacted to replenish the force, including the Guard and Reserves.
There's always this:
"$45,000 is latest Army sweetener for recruits
The money is for the soldier to buy a home or business when military duty is finished. The pilot program starts next month.
"$45,000 is latest Army sweetener for recruits
The money is for the soldier to buy a home or business when military duty is finished. The pilot program starts next month.
From the Chicago Tribune, October 21, 2007:
WASHINGTON -- With the Army entrenched in two protracted wars while trying to increase its overall troop levels, commanders are finding they have to sweeten the pot to attract a few good men and women and keep the ones they already have.
WASHINGTON -- With the Army entrenched in two protracted wars while trying to increase its overall troop levels, commanders are finding they have to sweeten the pot to attract a few good men and women and keep the ones they already have.
Next month, the Army is launching the Army Advantage Fund, a pilot program that offers recruits $45,000 toward buying a house or new business upon completion of their military stint. That program comes on top of thousands of "quick-ship" bonuses that the Army doled out this year to recruits who agreed to ship out to basic training within 30 days, as well as ongoing reenlistment programs to retain those with special skills.[..]"
Yeah, like raw recruits are going to be ready for combat in Iraq or Afghanistan after just 30 days of basic training.
And here's why a young person would risk life and limb for enlistment goodies to fight such a loser of a war ......
The lack of decent paying jobs ... those steel mill and auto plant jobs are gone and have been replaced by $7.50 per hour McJobs. If you think there is no difference between a 25.00 per hour job and a 7.50 per hour job ... try working one for a year.
The lack of medical benefits forces young people to turn to military service just to provide medical care for themselves and their family. Something as simple as going to the dentist to keep their teeth from falling out or going to get fitted with eye glasses is becoming out of reach for a lot of people.
The high costs of college forces the middle and lower classes into the military in order to obtain a college education without $50,000 or $60,000 or more in student loan debt that will take decades to pay off.
Not to mention to escape violent crime, shootings and gang violence that's out of control in certain places -- Newark, Chicago, D.C., New Orleans, Detroit etc. Some kids would rather take their chance in Iraq, where the odds are lower of getting killed or seriously injured. And get this -- soldiers can't escape gangs completely because the Army is now recruiting them.
The above reasons are why the real fight is NOT in Afghanistan or Iraq, but right here in a place called the United Sates of America.
