[xzins]

The Army Reserve, meanwhile, missed its March recruiting goal by 46 percent, the third month in a row the component’s recruiters have fallen short.

NG & AR numbers are down very low and it cannot continue, but it will.

Weekend warriors don't want to be considered active duty troops....they have jobs and families.

If they're going to be deployed constantly, then these guys might as well join the active army. I'm sure that's what they're thinking.

And since they don't want to join the active army, then they're not joining the AR/NG.

In there minds, there is no difference. Therefore, there is no option.

[kingu]

Active Army recruiters have been told to sign 80,000 new recruits by the end of fiscal 2005, or Sept. 30. Army Reserve recruiters are supposed to find 22,175 enlistees. As of the end of March, however, the active Army had met 89 percent of its recruiting goal, short by 3,973 enlistees.

They have until Sept. 30th to find JUST 4k out of the 80k for their commitment? Six months at 750 troops per month? Is it just me who thinks this is a non issue?

I wonder how big the headlines will be when they meet their goals...

[elmer fudd]

The answer to all this is simple. Increase combat pay SUBSTANTIALLY. If the average soldier in Iraq were pulling down $100,000 a year and the elites among them were getting twice that, there would be more volunteers than the pentagon could handle. It wouldn't even cost that much more than we're already paying since salaries are a small percentage of the cost of the war.

[Spirited]

Perhaps this is reflected in the article posted here recently in which a woman widowed by this war is receiving $12,000 for the death of her husband.

If life is that cheap something is very wrong.