Time to stop pretending about the US Army
- From: "Kickin' Ass and Takin' Names" <PopUlist349@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2008 02:20:19 -0700 (PDT)
How long can we pretend about the U.S. Army?
By Mark Shields
Creators Syndicate
April 12, 2008
DON'T EVEN TALK about Iran. The United States Army is already way
overextended in Iraq and Afghanistan, and its recruitment record is
the worst in a generation.
Standards have already been lowered. In 2003, the year the United
States invaded and occupied Iraq, 4.6 percent of recruits — most of
whom had committed either multiple misdemeanors or a felony — had to
be given a "moral waiver" before being admitted into the Army. By
2006, 11 percent of new Army recruits had a criminal record and needed
that same moral waiver. In 2007, that figure had jumped to 13 percent.
Bleak Academic Record
Add to this bad news the bleak academic record: The Army's stated goal
remains that 90 percent of its recruits be high-school graduates
because that achievement has proven to be a strong indicator of future
success in the military. The percentage of recruits with a high-school
diploma dropped in 2007 to its lowest level in 25 years. In 2005,
nearly 84 percent of Army recruits were high-school graduates, but by
2007 that figure had fallen to just over 70 percent. Pentagon studies
have found that nearly half of the Army recruits who had dropped out
of high school before graduating went on to drop out of the military
before completion of their enlistment tour.
The Army is now offering high-school graduates who enlist a signing
bonus of $40,000, which they can use after they complete their service
obligation.
Relaxed Relaxed Standards
Even with its lower admission standards, the stretched-thin Army
apparently has relaxed its own standards. In recent years, one out of
three enlistees had been failing to complete their initial enlistment
tour, compared to one out of 10 draftees between 1940 and 1973. In
2006, 94 percent of Army recruits successfully completed basic
training, compared to just 82 percent one year earlier.
America's pre-eminent military sociologist, Professor Charles Moskos,
reports that the Army's new unofficial recruiting slogan, as told to
him by a military recruiter, is "Don't Ask, Don't Spell."
Recruiting-Crisis Consequences
Moskos, himself an Army draftee during the Cold War, lists just a few
of the consequences of the recruiting crisis: The increasing
dependence on civilian contractors, of whom there are approximately
20,000 in Iraq (the second largest force there after the U.S.
military), "performing combat-related functions." These private
entities operate outside of any military chain of command, and their
real cost is almost impossible to determine.
Moskos — who sees even greater pressure being imposed upon the Army
Reserves as well as increased reliance upon recruiting non-American
citizens into the Army to make up the shortfall — has a solution: He
urges an 18-month draft of American males in the active military
followed by 18 months in the regular reserve or National Guard.
Special Wrinkle
Here is his special wrinkle: Recalling 1958, when 70 percent of
American men age 26 were either then serving or had already served in
the U.S. military, Moskos argues that "any conscription system must
start at the top of the social ladder in order to win widespread
public acceptance."
In World War II, he reminds us, "America's privileged youths were
recruited at a significantly higher rate than were their counterparts
in lower socio-economic groups." What we have during this war with the
proliferation of "Support the Troops" bumper-stickers, he says, is
"patriotism lite."
Draftees' Superior Record
To those ready to object on grounds that a draft would constitute
"involuntary servitude" or that volunteers are more highly motivated
to serve, let it be pointed out that during the Cold War two times as
many volunteers as draftees failed to complete their initial
enlistment. And in Vietnam, according to the U.S. Army Research
Institute, draftees had lower desertion and AWOL rates than did
volunteers.
We have three remaining presidential candidates, each of whom has
publicly pledged to enlarge significantly the U.S. military. But none
of the three has had the courage or the candor to confront reality and
admit the all-volunteer system is unable to recruit a representative,
educated and psychologically well-adjusted U.S. Army. John McCain,
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton owe it to the nation to listen to an
authentic and wise patriot, professor and ex-GI, Charlie Moskos.
COPYRIGHT 2008 MARK SHIELDS
DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.
http://tinyurl.com/5y824s
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