Posted on 05/12/2008 2:58:00 PM PDT by jazusamo
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Marine Corps far surpassed its recruiting goal last month and could eventually be more than a year ahead of schedule in its plan to grow the force to 202,000 members.
All military services met or exceeded their monthly recruiting goals in April, with the Marine Corps signing 142 percent of the number it was looking for, the Pentagon said.
The Army signed 101 percent of its goal, recruiting 5,681 against a goal of 5,650. The Navy and Air Force met their goals — 2,905 sailors and 2,435 airmen.
The Marine Corps enlisted 2,233 recruits against a goal of 1,577.
"The Marine Corps, if they continue to achieve the kind of success they have had, could meet their growth figures more than a year early," Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman told Pentagon reporters. That would mean by around the end of 2009.
Stretched thin by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon last year recommended that the Army be increased by about 65,000 soldiers to a total of 547,000, and the Marines be increased by 27,000 to 202,000.
Recruiting is easier in a slow economy, which limits other job possibilities that are available. But officials also noted that the Army and Marines have added recruiters as well as bonuses and other special benefits to attract more recruits in the midst of the unpopular war in Iraq.
Boy, they just gotta get their digs in, don’t they?
But murtha says our military is broken!
Wow. Didn’t realize how bad public education is...all these people can’t read?
Makes us all proud.
I only wish the Haditha & Pendleton 8 Marines had not been prosecuted for doing their job.
Semper Fi,
Kelly
Yep, they always get the bonus and economy thing in.
Well THANK YOU recruits!
Thanks Code Pink! ;^)
I believe you’re right! :-)
There is no way that money and the economy is the only reason for why people join. They could come to Vegas and make $200 a night in tips parking cars for people using the valet service for crying out loud. Lots of ways to make far better money....even during a slow U.S. economy. They do it for reasons the liberals will NEVER understand.
I mentioned this to a lefty at work and he said they were letting in felons and people who didn’t finish school. Is that right?
AP doing its customary bit of agitprop. In fact, unemployment fell during the last quarter from 5.5% to 5.0%. That doesn't explain 142% in Marine recruiting, pride and patriotism does.
Absolutely agree, but the libtards and enemedia always get there digs in.
Does your Lefty friend really think that non-literate high school drop outs can run multi-million dollar equipment, and are the only recruits the services had tell him to F*** off.
What do you think?
It is the VETERAN, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the VETERAN, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
The military has a waiver program for lesser offenses and they’ve had it since WWII that I know of and maybe longer. That program has straightened out many young people and in effect gives them a chance at a normal life.
I don’t know the policy on diplomas and/or GEDs now but any enlistee has to pass a written exam.
bump
“Halp uS Jon Cary, We’re exceeding hour gol.”
They do not allow felons in. My nephew developed a heroin addiction at an early age and beat the crap out of a guy, spending two years in jail for assault and battery. He is now 27, has been clean for a year or so after a few false starts, and is now studying nights to get his certification as a personal trainer.
He told me he would have liked to join the military, but said they wouldn’t take him. He was disappointed, because he now sees what he has to carry around for the rest of his life, but he understands it.
Too bad they couldn’t review them on a case by case basis, because I think my nephew would have really done well in the military. Some people really shine when they get in, and I think he would have been one of them.
He doesn’t use it as an excuse (he takes full responsibility for his actions) but I think the death of his older brother in a car accident when he was 19 affected him deeply. He wouldn’t talk about it for a long time, though he will now.
He is getting his life back in order though. Good to see.
Must be a bunch of uneducated losers out there.
“They do not allow felons in.”
You are mistaken.
“Data released by a congressional committee shows that the number of soldiers admitted to the Army with felony records jumped from 249 in 2006 to 511 in 2007. And the number of Marines with felonies rose from 208 to 350.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, who released the data, noted that there may be valid reasons for granting the waivers and giving individuals a second chance.”
http://www.kvii.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=123982
“
The services use a waiver process to let in recruits with felony convictions, and many of the crimes were committed when the service members were juveniles.
http://www.kvii.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=123982
I guess I am.
I suppose because his case involved drug abuse, I am sure they steer clear of those in the waiver process.
But, it is still a small number. I would be interested in seeing what felonies they did allow in.
Good he is getting his life back together.
Yeah, notice how they always throw in a couple of snide remarks to explain good news?
I never see that attitude when they report on good stuff for the libs.
As a Marine, I don’t feel comfortable with allowing felons to enlist in the Marine Corps but these men still have to graduate boot camp and I am sure that they are watched very closely by their D.I.’s
and they are probably on a “one strike and you’re outa here.” program!
More Convicted Felons Allowed to Enlist
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/more-convicted-felons-allowed-to-enlist/20080421173209990001
Must have been all that friendly witchcraft.
I don’t know for sure but it could have been the drug thing. I know our military has a zero tolerance while in the service and has had it since they started the crack down after Vietnam.
Glad he’s straightening himself out.
“I suppose because his case involved drug abuse, I am sure they steer clear of those in the waiver process.
But, it is still a small number. I would be interested in seeing what felonies they did allow in.”
this article gives the numbers & crimes
More Convicted Felons Allowed to Enlist
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/more-convicted-felons-allowed-to-enlist/20080421173209990001
Yeah. He is a good guy, but he will have to pay for it.
Some guys beat up his older brother pretty badly (his older brother was not a physical fighting kind of guy), and he went to the house where the guys who did it were hanging out and dared them to come out.
None did.
Several months after his brother was killed, a couple of the punks made some pretty cruel remarks about his deceased older brother, and he beat one of them pretty badly. He got sentenced to a year, got paroled, developed a habit and had to go back in for another year for violating drug use on the parole.
It was awful. My brother and his wife, who were struggling to cope with the loss of their son, had to deal with this as well. It was painful.
Since getting out a couple of years back, he had relapsed twice and spent time in rehabs and AA, but it looks like he is going to make it this time.
I’m sure the D.I.’s are aware of the waivered ones and as you say they’re gone quick if they screw up.
I know years ago that judges would give some young people the chance to enlist or going to jail if they screwed up. I don’t believe that’s done any longer.
Thanks to both of you for the links. I am going to suggest that if he is still interested, he give it a try again. I don’t think he pursued it all that vigorously. I think he asked and they just said no...that was three or four years ago, and I don’t think he was out of the woods at that time anyway. I think it would be mutually beneficial...:)
The excuse that also really gets under my skin is that it’s a bunch of adrenaline junkies that join that just want to thrill seek because they’re at the prime age that young men believe they are invulnerable.
My response to that is that we have cops and firemen who die and/or wounded in the line of duty every day across our country. They, like those that are in combat in the military, risk their lives and health in order to give the rest of us the level of safety that we have. It might not be a level some of us would like, but the level of safety we do enjoy is because of those out there fighting and dying.
People that make such comments would never think of saying that cops and firemen are just out looking for a thrill because they’re adrenaline junkies. Yet, when such ignorant statements are made about our combat troops, they are believed by those just looking for a way to make sense of why anyone would want to go and fight foreign enemies.
I lived next door to a Marine Gunny. His job was to train DI's. He put them through hell. They passed it on.
Anyone who can make it through USMC boot camp is a Marine! Try and pull the gun out of his hands! I lived in Swansboro, and regularly passed guys and gals running along 172. They were either training or testing... and they were sweating! I couldn't do it.
In a related story, this is what you can expect of a Marine! As I previously commented, "No greater love..."
Yes, reinforces the politics of John Kerry.
“I know years ago that judges would give some young people the chance to enlist or going to jail if they screwed up.”
I had a high school classmate back in the 60’s who was allowed to either enlist in the Corps or go to jail.
Congratulations Marine Corps! OOHRAH!
THe economy plainly didn’t drive the successful recruitment, so your basic thesis is correct. But unemployment edged down only from 5.1 to 5.0%. And overtime hours, total hours, and the workforce all shrank significantly, so we’re still not seeing any rebounding growth — yet.
Argh - you’re right, of course. And we are talking entry-level employees, after all. But I’m still really jazzed about the 142%. BTT.
>> And we are talking entry-level employees, after all. <<
I wouldn’t even say that...
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