Bleak U.S. job market boosts military recruitment

Rueters ^ | 10/13/09 | staff

[Nachum]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Aided by a bleak job market, the U.S. military met all of its recruitment goals in the past year for the first time since it became an all-volunteer force in 1973, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

Military services have been stretched thin by conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, giving added weight to recruitment efforts as President Barack Obama considers sending another 40,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan next year.

[rbg81]

....the U.S. military met all of its recruitment goals in the past year for the first time since it became an all-volunteer force in 1973....

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Huh? That doesn’t sound correct.

[OldDeckHand]

"Huh? That doesn’t sound correct."

No way is that correct.

[rbg81]

Fox News reported that they exceeded their benchmarks for recruit quality by the best margin in the history of the AVF. That sounds more plausible.

[the anti-liberal]

I’m just surprised people are signing up under the 0 administration. I’d think they’d be concerned about following unlawful orders while fox-holing with a... queer.

[RedStateGuyTrappedinCT]

It’s a sign of a bad economy. The same thing happened in the early 80s. If I were 20 years younger I might consider it. Then again with Zer0 and Plugs in charge maybe I’ll just stay on unemployment.

[brushcop]

I keep in touch with young men that were former Scouts of mine, now in their mid-20s, several have gone into the military but now the services are VERY selective, they are disqualifying candidates on any small thing they can where formerly they were okayed. Many do not make the cut these days.

One, in the USAF is seeing those trying to reenlist after one hitch being refused (no, they weren’t a problem). It’s going to be tough.

[NavyCanDo]

I signed up with the Navy in 1977, when the Peanut Farmer Jimmy Cater was at the helm of the USS Malaise, and we were sinking fast. In my Senior year of High school I could not even find a part time minimum wage job to help with Saturday Night date money and gas for the car. Nobody was hiring.
Young graduates were flocking to the recruiting centers, and that was not always a good thing. We had some real losers, signing up. Dope heads, thieves, child molesters, you name it. The moral was bad too, with FTN a popular choice for bulkhead graffiti.
Things did get better over time, after Reagan became our President. The pride returned, and those losers, most of them were one hitchers and returned to civilian life.