Army vice chief of staff worried about future of all-volunteer military

He talks about the 'influencers' needing to talk up service to the country. I have no problem with anyone 'serving' their country. As a mother I talked to both my children about it. My son served 6 yaers in the Marines, fortunately he got out in 2001 before all this happened. He can't go back due to medical problems. I think he served his country enough.

However, when I talked about service to my kids it wasn't just military. That was just my son's choice at that time. I believe in service to one's community and nation. I spent my whole career is social services and you don't get rich or appreciated doing that but it is service to my community.

As an influencer I would not advise any young man or woman to join the military to fight illegal wars of occupation. Because, in my opinion that is what is going on right now.

Finally, as an side observation he talks about how the military must provide better housing, medical care etc for the military and its families. Note that (and I got this from Randi Rhodes) the military in providing these services is actually doing a liberal, socialistic thing. It doesn't expect its soldiers and their families to have to struggle alone for these things. It is just another one of the many contradictions inherent in our society.

causes of this administration is service against the best interests of working class Americans.

It gets me that we talk about Neocon interests and PNAC interests as if they were the interests of the nation when in reality they are the interests of an elitist group of greed mongers who have the power to force people to give their children in the service of their evil designs.

Bush does not speak for me nor are any of his ambitions or wars done in my name.

To me it is very much like the Hitler youth in Germany, They served Hitler not Germany.

We should have this war declared unlawful and immoral and anyone who willingly fights it is a war criminal.

Does anyone know if this is correct? And also including women. Both my husband and I fall under this if it is true. We have no children. I'm 30 and he's 29. I'm damn glad Canada is very close.

You must go ACTIVE before your 35th birthday, so that you can complete 20 years of active service (if you choose) prior to reaching age 55. There are exceptions written into the law for specialty personnel (staff corps, like doctors, chaplains, people who have to do a lot of education up front, or because they can't always get them young enough). But for warriors, that is the rule.

This is the active service rule, the reserves operate under different constraints, and serve longer careers to earn their retirement points in drilling status.

Generally, in a draft situation where you have to mobilize MASSIVE numbers of troops, you start out with the younger, healthier, easier to train, pickings--it just makes more sense from a personnel management perspective. During WW2 they "reached deep" as the war dragged on, but I have to say, if they start reaching all the way into the 30's for this war, we are in a tough situation and things are worse than we're being told--or it simply suggests that they don't have, and cannot recruit, the force mix they are looking for. In short, this sounds to me like they are developing a 'targeted skills' draft.

In this sort of scenario, it would not be every unfortunate bastard from 18-34 who gets the call, at least not initially--they'd select for people who can do the very specific jobs they want done. Is it patrol? Is it shooting folks? (You don't want people with poor vision or lousy hand-eye coordination in that instance). Is it medical personnel? Engineers to get that oil out of the ground? Civil affairs types? Translators? SPECOPS types?

It could well be that they start cherrypicking from the pool of available registrants, and if they need, say, more nurses, or EMTs (as medics/corpsmen) than you could well see older Johnnies frog-marching off to war....

See, that didn't take them long.


http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=7962861

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1330013

first they steal the twenty year olds and the thirty year olds are happy and then they steal the thirty year olds and the forty year olds are happy and then .............

No woman/man is safe when the oil flow slows down.

IMHO

180

They folded like a cheap suit on the invasion and occupation of Iraq, and they will fold again when they are told to occupy this country.

Our only hope is the person on the other side of the weapon pointed at you is someone who still has a brain.

The Imperial Presidency by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.

It was not unkown for professional officers in the citizen army to complain about a want of discipline and patriotism in the nation. Nor was it inconceivable that the existence of an army professional in all its ranks might suggest things to a President who regarded dissent as a form of subversion or anarchy and wished to restore law and order in the name of national security. Seven Days in May might seem melodramatic fantasy, but Preisident Kennedy, who knew the military, wanted it filmed as a warning to the nation. In any case, there seemed no advantage in compounding problems of an already volatile political society by introducing into it a "small nation by itself," united by professional prejudices, resentments and ambitions and possessing a monopoly of the weapons of war. Here, it would appear, was precisely the large and permanent military establishment which, as Hamilton had written in the Eighth Federalist, tended to destroy civil and political rights of the people and which, as Madison had said in 1812, was forbidden by the principles of our free government.

My nephew proudly told me that he was going to join the Marines. I chewed his ass, told him that I would have none of that horse shit even though I am a Viet vet Marine. He changed his mind, thankfully.
There's your stinking influence!

Keep it up.

Same thing it did in 2002, only 5 years older. Same people, same billets, maybe increased disillusionment with the Command...Same un-armoured Hum-Vees.

Same Rumsferatu dancing around going "oh, good golly, Miss Molly, we don't need a draft! I'll just extend everyone's tour to 15 years!"

I did just that..... He completed it last week!

I feel that my daughter is less inclined to be swayed by someone saying "Because <blank> says it's so!"

Thank goodness she's old enough that "Because *I'M* the Daddy!" doesn't apply anymore...

"Dad, I already know this stuff"!>>>> GREAT! Even though his grand dad is a O'Rielly lovin', retired preacher, my son has developed the ability to think for himself!
Makes me feel like I'm doin' OK as a parent!

Ain't it great?

Bush operates out of denial, not reality.

“The all-volunteer force is close to breaking right now,” said retired Maj. Gen. Edward Atkeson, now a prolific author on military affairs and a senior fellow at the Institute of Land Warfare. “When it does break, that’s when you’ll see the draft come back.”

The Institute of Land Warfare is the think tank arm of the Association of the United States Army. AUSA is a private, non-profit educational organization that supports America's Army. Bush* can't stifle their powerful voice voice....yet....

He'll be ignored.

the president of the AUSA. They may be ignored by Bush*, but they still have the ear of Congress. Oh wait, that doesn't mean crapola these days....

while the politicians gloat in their vanity mirrors, the boots on the ground realize Iraq is less about national security than it is political security.

wonder how they will slid it in. Need some good media propaganda for this one, I'm sure they will have it ready. Pre-packaged and ready to sell. Run kids, Run...

I think a certain smirking sociopath ain't gonna finish his term.