Full Article Text
T U E S D A Y , M A Y 0 3 , 2 0 0 5US Military Misses Latest Recruiting Goalsby Michael in New York on
5/03/2005 02:51:00 AMIt seems obvious that the military might find it difficult to bringin new recruits when we're at war -- but historically theopposite has been true. Now USA Today reports the Army hasfallen far short of its recruiting goal for the third month in arow. And the news is bad in every branch.As of April 30 the Army had achieved only 85% of itstarget for the first five months of the fiscal year, whichbegan Oct. 1.... Specific figures for April [weren'tavailable] but it fell short of the monthly goal of6,600. In March the Army had hoped to sign up 6,800recruits but fell 32% short. That was slightly worsethan in February, when a goal of 7,050 was missed by27%.Prior to missing the February target the Army had notfallen short of a monthly goal since May 2000.The Army National Guard and Army Reserve have hadeven more trouble recruiting. In March the ArmyReserve signed up barely half the 1,600 soldiers itsought. It has not met a monthly goal since December2004, and for the period from October 2004 throughMarch it met only 82% of its goal.The most worrisome aspect is the National Guard and ArmyReserve. Bush has completely abused the very nature of theGuard and Reserve, turning weekend warriors who should becalled up only in dire situations and turning them into de factoregular army soldiers with no chance to go home even afterthey've fulfilled their duty. It's damaged these importantreserves irreparably for decades to come, I fear, making it thatmuch harder for us to keep this country safe down the road.
Add New CommentYou are commenting as a Guest. You may select one to log into:
HuffPost PoliticsJames Crowley, Policeman Who Arrested Gates,Won't Apologize - NATICK, Mass. — A white policesergeant accused of racism after he arrestedrenowned black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. at hishome insisted Wednesday...5 minutes ago
Daily KosOpen Thread and Diary Rescue - *Today, srkp23(pulling a double shift), ybruti, taylormattd,ItsJessMe and vcmvo2 combed through hundredsof diaries to find this powerful list. Today's...10 minutes ago
Crooks and LiarsC&L's Late Night Music Club With The Tubes - Title:White Punks On Dope Artist: The Tubes I havealways thought that The Tubes were underrated.They may be best known for songs like She's aBeauty and...50 minutes ago
EschatonOn Financial innovation - Financial innovation hasgotten a somewhat deserved bad rap, because asMatt smartly pointed out earlier, so muchinnovation is really just regulatory arbi...52 minutes ago
J O H N ' S P H OT O S
AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: US Mil...http://www.americablog.com/2005/05/us-military-misses-latest-...
1 of 57/22/09 11:54 PM
FiredoglakePecora in Perspective: Investment Banking,Commercial Banking, and Glass-Steagall - ThePecora Commission report devotes a substantialamount of pages to discussion of the evils ofallowing the commingling of commercial bankingservices, i...1 hour agoShow All
A M E R I C A B L O G T V
Visit our AMERICAblog TV site.see all 322 videos >I collect with
vodpod
In honor of SenatorDeMint
For the GOPers, healthcare is politics. They just
Traditional media has todebunk the birthers
One small step...
The right-wing media, thevoices of the GOP, in
REM - Orange CrushNext 6AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: US Mil...http://www.americablog.com/2005/05/us-military-misses-latest-...
2 of 57/22/09 11:54 PM
Ezra KleinTab Dump4 hours agoWonk RoomSen. Byron Dorgan:The ‘Trade’ InCap-And-Trade ‘MakesNo Sense To Me’5 hours agoHealth BeatTruth Squad: WallStreet Journal HealthCare Editorial Wrong onthe Facts . . .6 hours agoThe TreatmentHatch Is Out8 hours agoDaily DoseProviders Endorse 'Payfor Value' Proposals13 hours agoG AY P O L I T I C S
Visit our new gay politicssection, AMERICAblog Gay.F E E D S
Blog RSS
AMERICAblog TV RSS
Twitter RSSTwitter Feed
Get the blog by email:
Subscribe me!
Top AdAdvertise in this spot.H E A LT H C A R ER E F O R MAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: US Mil...http://www.americablog.com/2005/05/us-military-misses-latest-...
3 of 57/22/09 11:54 PM
S E A R C H
AMERICAblog
Web
SearchS E N D U S T I P S &C O M M E N T Samericablog@starpower.netB L O G A R C H I V E
Blog ArchiveS I T E S W E L I K EAir America RadioAlan Colmes' blogAri Melber (The Nation)Ben SmithBicycleMark's blog &podcastBilericoBradBlogBring It OnCarrie FisherCrooks and LiarsDailyKosDan Savage's "Slog"Daou ReportDemocratic UndergroundEschatonEzra KleinFire Dog LakeFiveThirtyEight.comFreeway BloggerThe Gavel (SpeakerPelosi's blog)Good As YouGlenn GreenwaldHoly Bullies and HeadlessMonstersHuffington PostHullabaloo (Digby)Jack and Jill PoliticsJed ReportJesus' GeneralKenneth in the 212Margaret and HelenMatthew GrossMedia MattersMike Signorile's "The Gist"MudflatsMyDDOpen LeftPlum LinePolitical Punch (JakeTapper)Political WirePolitics 1Pop SurfingProgressive Blog DigestQueers UnitedRawStoryRex WocknerRude PunditSmirking ChimpTalk LeftTappedTaylor MarshThink ProgressTowleRoadVetVoice.comWashington NoteWayneBesen.comWonketteWorth Repeating
N E W S L I N K SUSWashington PostNYTAP PoliticsReuters PoliticsRasmussen PollsTimeNewsweekRoll CallThe HillABCNews
P L E A S E S U P P O RTA M E R I C A B L O GOne-time donation$
Recurring monthlydonation$
Donations are nottax-deductible.L A B E L S
Select a labelL A S T 1 0 0 V I S I T O R SRecent Visitors
A B O U TA M E R I C A B L O GWhy AMERICAblog?Because a great nationdeserves the truth.What issues do youcover?US politics overall with aparticular focus on theObama Administration, theradical right, and civilrights.Who are you?John AravosisEditorWashington, DCJoe SudbayDeputy EditorWashington, DCChris RyanAssociate EditorParis, FranceRobert ArenaContributing EditorBaltimore, MarylandJacki SchechnerContributing EditorWashington, DCAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: US Mil...http://www.americablog.com/2005/05/us-military-misses-latest-...
4 of 57/22/09 11:54 PM
© 2009 - John Aravosis | Design maintenance by Jason RosenbaumSend me your tips: americablog@starpower.netAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: US Mil...http://www.americablog.com/2005/05/us-military-misses-latest-...
5 of 57/22/09 11:54 PM
5/03/2005 02:51:00 AMIt seems obvious that the military might find it difficult to bringin new recruits when we're at war -- but historically theopposite has been true. Now USA Today reports the Army hasfallen far short of its recruiting goal for the third month in arow. And the news is bad in every branch.As of April 30 the Army had achieved only 85% of itstarget for the first five months of the fiscal year, whichbegan Oct. 1.... Specific figures for April [weren'tavailable] but it fell short of the monthly goal of6,600. In March the Army had hoped to sign up 6,800recruits but fell 32% short. That was slightly worsethan in February, when a goal of 7,050 was missed by27%.Prior to missing the February target the Army had notfallen short of a monthly goal since May 2000.The Army National Guard and Army Reserve have hadeven more trouble recruiting. In March the ArmyReserve signed up barely half the 1,600 soldiers itsought. It has not met a monthly goal since December2004, and for the period from October 2004 throughMarch it met only 82% of its goal.The most worrisome aspect is the National Guard and ArmyReserve. Bush has completely abused the very nature of theGuard and Reserve, turning weekend warriors who should becalled up only in dire situations and turning them into de factoregular army soldiers with no chance to go home even afterthey've fulfilled their duty. It's damaged these importantreserves irreparably for decades to come, I fear, making it thatmuch harder for us to keep this country safe down the road.
Add New CommentYou are commenting as a Guest. You may select one to log into:
HuffPost PoliticsJames Crowley, Policeman Who Arrested Gates,Won't Apologize - NATICK, Mass. — A white policesergeant accused of racism after he arrestedrenowned black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. at hishome insisted Wednesday...5 minutes ago
Daily KosOpen Thread and Diary Rescue - *Today, srkp23(pulling a double shift), ybruti, taylormattd,ItsJessMe and vcmvo2 combed through hundredsof diaries to find this powerful list. Today's...10 minutes ago
Crooks and LiarsC&L's Late Night Music Club With The Tubes - Title:White Punks On Dope Artist: The Tubes I havealways thought that The Tubes were underrated.They may be best known for songs like She's aBeauty and...50 minutes ago
EschatonOn Financial innovation - Financial innovation hasgotten a somewhat deserved bad rap, because asMatt smartly pointed out earlier, so muchinnovation is really just regulatory arbi...52 minutes ago
J O H N ' S P H OT O S
AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: US Mil...http://www.americablog.com/2005/05/us-military-misses-latest-...
1 of 57/22/09 11:54 PM
FiredoglakePecora in Perspective: Investment Banking,Commercial Banking, and Glass-Steagall - ThePecora Commission report devotes a substantialamount of pages to discussion of the evils ofallowing the commingling of commercial bankingservices, i...1 hour agoShow All
A M E R I C A B L O G T V
Visit our AMERICAblog TV site.see all 322 videos >I collect with
vodpod
In honor of SenatorDeMint
For the GOPers, healthcare is politics. They just
Traditional media has todebunk the birthers
One small step...
The right-wing media, thevoices of the GOP, in
REM - Orange CrushNext 6AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: US Mil...http://www.americablog.com/2005/05/us-military-misses-latest-...
2 of 57/22/09 11:54 PM
Ezra KleinTab Dump4 hours agoWonk RoomSen. Byron Dorgan:The ‘Trade’ InCap-And-Trade ‘MakesNo Sense To Me’5 hours agoHealth BeatTruth Squad: WallStreet Journal HealthCare Editorial Wrong onthe Facts . . .6 hours agoThe TreatmentHatch Is Out8 hours agoDaily DoseProviders Endorse 'Payfor Value' Proposals13 hours agoG AY P O L I T I C S
Visit our new gay politicssection, AMERICAblog Gay.F E E D S
Blog RSS
AMERICAblog TV RSS
Twitter RSSTwitter Feed
Get the blog by email:
Subscribe me!
Top AdAdvertise in this spot.H E A LT H C A R ER E F O R MAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: US Mil...http://www.americablog.com/2005/05/us-military-misses-latest-...
3 of 57/22/09 11:54 PM
S E A R C H
AMERICAblog
Web
SearchS E N D U S T I P S &C O M M E N T Samericablog@starpower.netB L O G A R C H I V E
Blog ArchiveS I T E S W E L I K EAir America RadioAlan Colmes' blogAri Melber (The Nation)Ben SmithBicycleMark's blog &podcastBilericoBradBlogBring It OnCarrie FisherCrooks and LiarsDailyKosDan Savage's "Slog"Daou ReportDemocratic UndergroundEschatonEzra KleinFire Dog LakeFiveThirtyEight.comFreeway BloggerThe Gavel (SpeakerPelosi's blog)Good As YouGlenn GreenwaldHoly Bullies and HeadlessMonstersHuffington PostHullabaloo (Digby)Jack and Jill PoliticsJed ReportJesus' GeneralKenneth in the 212Margaret and HelenMatthew GrossMedia MattersMike Signorile's "The Gist"MudflatsMyDDOpen LeftPlum LinePolitical Punch (JakeTapper)Political WirePolitics 1Pop SurfingProgressive Blog DigestQueers UnitedRawStoryRex WocknerRude PunditSmirking ChimpTalk LeftTappedTaylor MarshThink ProgressTowleRoadVetVoice.comWashington NoteWayneBesen.comWonketteWorth Repeating
N E W S L I N K SUSWashington PostNYTAP PoliticsReuters PoliticsRasmussen PollsTimeNewsweekRoll CallThe HillABCNews
P L E A S E S U P P O RTA M E R I C A B L O GOne-time donation$
Recurring monthlydonation$
Donations are nottax-deductible.L A B E L S
Select a labelL A S T 1 0 0 V I S I T O R SRecent Visitors
A B O U TA M E R I C A B L O GWhy AMERICAblog?Because a great nationdeserves the truth.What issues do youcover?US politics overall with aparticular focus on theObama Administration, theradical right, and civilrights.Who are you?John AravosisEditorWashington, DCJoe SudbayDeputy EditorWashington, DCChris RyanAssociate EditorParis, FranceRobert ArenaContributing EditorBaltimore, MarylandJacki SchechnerContributing EditorWashington, DCAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: US Mil...http://www.americablog.com/2005/05/us-military-misses-latest-...
4 of 57/22/09 11:54 PM
© 2009 - John Aravosis | Design maintenance by Jason RosenbaumSend me your tips: americablog@starpower.netAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: US Mil...http://www.americablog.com/2005/05/us-military-misses-latest-...
5 of 57/22/09 11:54 PM