They Won't Go

George W. Bush is in no danger of being ranked among the nation's pre-eminent commanders in chief. Not only has he been unable thus far to win the war in Iraq, but on his watch significant sectors of the proud U.S. military have been rapidly deteriorating.

The Army reported on Friday that it had fallen short of its recruitment goals for a fourth consecutive month. The Marines managed to meet their recruitment target for May, but that was their first successful month this year. Scrambling to fill its ranks, the Army is signing up more high school dropouts and lower-scoring applicants. With the war in Iraq going badly and allegations of abuse by military personnel widespread, young men and women are increasingly deciding that there's no upside to a career choice in which the most important skills might be ducking bullets and dodging roadside bombs.

The primary reason the U.S. went to an all-volunteer military in 1973 was to ensure that those who did not want to fight wouldn't have to. That option is now being overwhelmingly exercised, discretion being the clear choice over valor. Young people and their parents alike are turning their backs on the military in droves. The Army is so desperate for even lukewarm bodies that it is reluctant to release even problem soldiers, troops who are seriously out of shape, or pregnant, or abusing alcohol or drugs. And it is lowering standards for admission to the junior officer ranks. For example, minor criminal offenses that previously would have been prohibitive can now be overlooked.

There's something frankly embarrassing about a government offering trinkets to children to persuade them to go off and fight - and perhaps die - in a war that their nation should never have started in the first place. It's highly questionable whether most high school kids are equipped to make an informed decision about joining the military, which is exactly why they're targeted. The additional knowledge and maturity gained in the first few years after high school make it easier for a young man or woman to make a wiser, more meaningful choice, pro or con. The parents of the kids being sought by recruiters to fight this unpopular war are creating a highly vocal and potentially very effective antiwar movement. In effect, they're saying to their own children: hell no, you won't go.

rest of the article
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/13/opinion/13herbert.html?hp

issue in a long time.

They're determined to keep this killing machine alive... it's just grotesque.

:puke:

After Vietnam we instituted an "all volunteer" military and a system that put more emphasis on the use of the National Guard and the Reserves in time of war. It was felt that Americans would be more aware of the costs of war if men and women with families and local ties had to fight instead of only 17 to 20 year old kids. And the policy has worked as is evidenced by how local media outlets have kept the story alive and why parents are now the greatest stumbling block to this war machine.

gee, I dunno... is there a great deal of valor derived from killing innocent civillians?

Seems like a more common sense choice to me.