The hunt for soldiers

Fifty-five hundred Individual Ready Reserve members (including that 68-year-old doctor) have received orders to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan. The military now says that an equal number will be called up next year to replace them.

Meanwhile...the Army is adding 1,000 recruiters and $12 million in advertising money to boost efforts to sign up fresh soldiers. In the fiscal year that ended Thursday, the regular Army and Army Reserve met recruiting goals, while the Army National Guard fell short.

Wired article

Something tells me it's not going to help.

Howard Dean recently posted an online article about the possibility of an upcoming draft, in which he gave this account of the IRR:

They are typically in their mid-to-late forties, and have not been on active duty and have not trained for some time. Traditionally, they are only supposed to be called up during a time of national emergency. In 2001, President Bush authorized their call up but never rescinded this order even after he declared "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq in May of 2003.

Perhaps, along the lines of Neal Boortz' "shares in America" idea for voting rights, we could institute a constitutional provision that requires a popular vote to take the nation to war, and those who vote yea must sign up for service.

And what's this deal about pulling troops out of the DMZ in Korea to coincide with North Korea's claims of nuclear weapons readiness? Just why is the administration so blatantly acting contrary to logic? Everything they're doing on the domestic front and in foreign policy looks as though they are actually trying to destroy the country. Shouldn't these people be in jail? Or maybe Guantanamo?

Maybe they figure there's no point in having troops on the ground if North Korea is going to use nukes. Probably doesn't matter where your troops are when Armageddon goes down.

And while we're on the subject, just what do they think this is going to accomplish...

Congress recently approved a new, short-term enlistment option for America's Armed Forces. It would enable volunteers to sign up for 18 months of service on active duty -- the average enlistment now is four years -- followed by service in the Reserves and then either a period of availability in the Individual Ready Reserves or civilian service in AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps. This short-term "citizen soldier" option was a key provision of the Bayh-McCain Call to Service Act, which was designed to dramatically expand national service in America.

Sure, sign up for 18 months. Eighteen months in Iraq.

I think this is supposed to be a step toward spreading military service across class lines. As if the "upper" class is going to sign up for an 18-month stint when they won't sign up for a four-year one. What it looks like is another way to have those "upper" classes pretend to be patriotic enough to serve in the military, but like George's National Guard service, they'll get preferential assignments to "civilian service". Bet?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Thanks to Tom for the topic.

Update 7:45 am: Just came across this from The Progress Report:

[T]he Army has announced plans to relax requirements facing new recruits for the first time in six years. The new criteria will allow for increases in the number of recruits without a high-school diploma and in those who received the lowest acceptable scores on a service aptitude test.

Now there's an idea. Recruit some morons. But hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

If we're also activating men as old as 68, I know of some morons hanging out at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue they could take. In fact, I know of one in particular who scored the lowest possible on his flight entry exam. "One point above 'too dumb to fly'" is how I've seen it reported.