Free Republic

The US Navy had to deliver some bad news last October. Like the other armed service branches, they missed their recruiting goals again. And they missed all of them. By a lot. The enlisted ranks goal for fiscal year 2023 had been 37,700, but they came up more than 7,000 short of that. They missed the enlisted reserve goal by more than 2,000 and fell short by hundreds in the goal for new officers. This forced them to raise the goals for 2024 even higher. But how do they plan on accomplishing that feat?Sadly, they have resorted to the same...

Recent developments in the United States military enlistment criteria have sparked waves of speculation and concern. The United States Navy has taken a surprising turn, dropping all high school diploma and GED requirements for enlistments. The news has raised eyebrows and led a curious citizen journalist to pick up the phone and verify this seemingly unbelievable information directly with the Navy. The conversation with a Navy phone operator unfolded as follows: Citizen Journalist: “I just heard that you guys are no longer requiring GEDs or high school diplomas, is that true?” Navy Phone Operator: “Yes. Apparently, it is, that is...

Oh BTW..sorry about the "up yours n*****" If you want to come back in and help us fight another war we have no business being in..we will take you back. ---- Then photo of letter from: Hope C. Rampy Brigadier General, United States Army Director of Military Personnel Management

he United States may not send troops into Ukraine during the war against Russia, but it doesn't mean Americans can't join the fight in Ukraine. Officials in the U.S. have stated the Ukrainian military has done a stellar job at holding off Russian forces so far, but this could be a long war, and Ukraine is asking for help from foreign allies. "The International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine" was created by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to help strengthen the fight against the Russian invasion.

A military recruitment memo sent out by the US Military Entrance Processing Command (MEPCOM) outlines that those who have tested positive for COVID-19 will not be allowed to join the military — even after they recover. The memo has been widely circulating on social media and was first reported on by Military Times on Wednesday. Pentagon spokeswoman Jessica Maxwell confirmed to Military Times that the memo is authentic. According to the memo, all 65 Military Entrance Processing Stations (MEPS) around the country will implement new guidelines for determining the medical qualifications of enlisting recruits. According to Military Times, all new...

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Kevin Meyer does his best recruiting face-to-face. He can look people in the eye, read their body language and get insight into whether they would make a good Marine. But coronavirus quarantines have shut down most recruiting stations. So Meyer and other recruiters have turned increasingly to social media. And that has its drawbacks. “They usually won’t run away if you’re talking to them in person,” said Meyer, noting that if they are online or on the phone, they can just hang up. “They just stop responding, and the conversation just ends without a conclusion.” As the...

Senate Assistant Majority Leader Richard J. Durbin vowed Monday to keep fighting to give green cards to some illegal immigrants who serve in the U.S. military, according to a report. “If you are willing to sign up in our military and risk your life for America, you should be given that opportunity,” Mr. Durbin, Illinois Democrat, proclaimed at a Senate Appropriation Committee field hearing in Chicago. Senate Democrats are debating whether to add the measure, known as the ENLIST Act, to the annual defense authorization act. The ENLIST Act would enable young illegal immigrants who entered the United States before...

I've been here ten years and this is my first post. I know many here have experience in the different services, but I have none. My son, who is 24, wants to enlist and make the military a career, but does not know which branch to enlist in. He has a high school diploma, no involvement with drugs, and no criminal record except, unfortunately, a DWI and several traffic related misdemeanors. He is intelligent, fit, athletic, and handsome. His interests are ice hockey, video games, and girls, in that order. He is a quiet person with a low arousal type...

The August 2011 IDF recruitment cycle will begin Monday, July 24. The youth joining the IDF in this cycle were born in the summer and fall of 1993 – just when then-Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin signed the ill-fated Oslo Accords with PLO strongman Yasser Arafat. When the “Oslo babies” were three years old, savage Hamas terrorists began blowing up buses full of civilian men, women and children inside Israel. When they were seven years old, Arafat launched the terror war dubbed by many as “the Oslo War,” which killed over 1,000 Israelis, most of them civilians, and injured many thousands...

The U.S. Army has graduated its first Sikh (seek) enlisted man in a generation after granting a rare religious exemption for his turban and beard because the military needs his language skills. The turban, unshorn hair and beard are tenets of the Sikh religion. Army policies since 1984 had effectively prevented Sikhs from enlisting by barring those items. Spc. Simran Lamba was recruited under a special program seeking speakers of two Indian languages, Hindi and Punjabi. The 26-year Indian immigrant from New Delhi completed basic training Wednesday at Fort Jackson outside Columbia and became a U.S. citizen. He will be...

I have an uncle who recently passed away, he told me that during the war he was a paratrooper. I'm guessing 82nd Airborne, can anyone direct me to a website where I could research his service?

I don’t disagree with most of what Glenn Beck says in this piece. Courts-martial for Navy SEALS who allegedly gave a terrorist a fat lip while in custody? Does the Navy court-martial sailors who give each other fat lips? Would a SEAL stop at a fat lip if he actually got out of control? (I know a couple of SEALs, and I highly, highly doubt it.) Few would disagree with the thought that we should put the men and women who dedicate their lives to this country as our first priority, either, and that we should give them the resources...

I had a strong need to somehow note an important...actually,pivotal...day in my life.It was forty years ago today that I raised my right hand and took the oath of enlistment of the United States Army.I was scared out of my wits (as,I suspect,were most guys entering the service in '69...and other years).But my "hitch" was *far* less "eventful" than that of many.I never got close to combat.Or even to a combat theater.And I,unlike so many,most certainly never got close to "bravery" or "courage" and I also never got close to the UCMJ either.As I said...uneventful.In fact,so uneventful that I feel...

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) likely will introduce his controversial legislation to reinstate the draft again this year, but he will wait until after the economic stimulus package is passed. Asked if he plans to introduce the legislation again in 2009, Rangel last week said, "Probably … yes. I don't want to do anything this early to distract from the issue of the economic stimulus." Rangel's military draft bill did create a distraction for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) soon after Democrats won control of Congress after the 2006 election. In the wake of that historic victory, Pelosi said publicly that...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 7, 2008 – In an effort to bolster the Afghan National Police, U.S. forces in southern Afghanistan recruited and sent a record 500 Afghan citizens to eight weeks of focused district development training, a military official said Aug. 6. “No other regions in the country have recruited nearly that amount during a training cycle,” Army Col. John Cuddy, commander of the Regional Police Advisory Command South said during a call with online journalists and bloggers. Due to the level of insurgent activity, Cuddy said, southern Afghanistan is the main effort in the fight against the enemies of Afghanistan....

This week, the story of Pfc Jordan Fox of Pittsburg was brought to light. Pfc Fox was injured when an IED exploded in Iraq. He suffered back injuries and lost the use of his right eye as a result of the explosion. Pfc Fox’s military service was subsequently cut short by three months. When Pfc Fox returned home, he received a letter from the Pentagon. The letter informed Fox that he owed the government nearly $5,000. You see, when Jordan Fox enlisted, he received an enlistment bonus of $10,000. According to the Pentagon’s letter, because Fox was unable to fulfill...

In my column last week I asked whether those that support the global war on terrorism are hypocrites for not joining the military. Several comment posters thought so. They don’t seem to grasp the point that the reason we don’t want all supporters of the war in the military is because we want to win. Their goal is different – the humiliation of America just so they can say “We told you so.” We want the strongest, most intelligent military of the willing in order to ensure victory. As Congressman James Clyburn (D-SC) said, that’s “a real big problem” for...

The Congressional Budget Office has released a major study#[1] of the U.S. military's demographics under an all-volunteer framework versus the draft. The idea of reinstating the draft was a hot-button issue last November when Congressman Charlie Rangel (D-NY), a leader and committee chairman in the newly elected Democratic majority, vocalized his intent to once again make conscription the law of land. Called on by Congress to assess the matter, CBO offered new findings, which dispassionately deflate the notion that America's All-Volunteer Force (AVF) is inferior to a conscripted force by any measure: effectiveness, cost, troop quality, retention, morale, and even...

Saying that it "perpetuates a subtle myth," a senior Pentagon official has responded to an AP story that appeared earlier this week regarding the drop in military enlistment by African-Americans. In comments to this NewsBuster, Bill Carr, the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy, said that "the AP left readers with an impression that something sinister was emerging, but one must by unusually cynical to miss the real story." The AP story reported that the number of blacks joining the military "has plunged by more than one-third since the Afghanistan and Iraq wars began. Other job prospects...

There will be a reenlistment ceremony this evening at 6pm at the Iwo Jima Memorial Arlington? Washington DC? I heard this from a person who called in to a radio talk show this morning. Any Freepers in the area who can attend should to show that average Americans appreciate the efforts of those in uniform. Rmember those who served this Memorial Day Sincerely, Mike Tremoglie