Friday, March 04, 2005

Calling all Republican chickenhawks ...

Following a link from John over at AmericaBlog, we find that the U.S. Army is falling short of its recruiting targets in spectacular fashion:

In what could be a troubling sign for the military, the active-duty Army missed its February recruiting goal by more than 27%. It was the first time in almost five years that the Army has failed to meet a monthly target...

And it's not like they're not pulling out all the stops:

The February shortfall is especially worrisome because it comes as the Army is trying to lure recruits with the largest enlistment bonuses it has ever offered: up to $20,000 to some recruits willing to sign on for four years. The Pentagon has also been adding thousands of recruiters for the Army and other branches.

Gosh, I wonder why all the reluctance:

Doug Smith, a spokesman for U.S. Army Recruiting Command at Fort Knox in Kentucky, attributed the shortfall in part to competition from the improving economy and parents' fears that their children could be injured or killed in Iraq.

Oh, right -- there's that "getting killed" thing that sort of puts a damper on your basic right-wing enthusiasm for military action. Bummer, that.

1 comment:

CC said...

From CC:

"And the more adngerous division of the military, the Marines, is up by over 40%."

Sure they are, Dizzy. Sure they are. Been watching Fox News again, have we?