Army to use patriotic appeal to meet goal

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/politics/11212432.htm

The Army probably will fall short of its monthly enlistment goals again in March and April but expects a new emphasis on patriotic pitches to make up the difference later, Secretary of the Army Francis Harvey said Wednesday.

The Army's usual peacetime pitches - money for college, vocational training - aren't so appealing when weighed against the perils of one or more tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. So it's crafting pitches appealing to parents' patriotism, since recruiters have encountered resistance from people reluctant to send their sons and daughters into harm's way.

"People who viewed the Army as a career move are probably finding that option less attractive as the war drags on," Thompson said. The Army's recruiting difficulties also suggest that "maybe the all-volunteer force only works well when we're not at war," he said.
<snip>

"We're a very divided country on whether this is a war that matters," Pena said. "Iraq is not clearly a war of U.S. national survival. As long as it's not perceived that way, you're going to have a hard time with the patriotic appeal."

I feel a draft.

We have relatives in Sweden . He might be taking a vacation to visit them soon.

Anyone who is dumb enough to fall for that ploy......

Well.....call it Darwinism I guess......

Although I'd tell them to join the Air Force or the Navy instead.

:kick:

their troops. Never forget that statement of "Bring it on!" and "hang 'em from the highest tree!" when he had 'his' troops on the ground in Iraq. It took terrorists and insurgents making their own video message to B*sh with his own words flung back at him before he would even say, 'oops'......Poppy and Bab's grandkids can sign up first. Maybe the National Guards might have a place for them.

Nothing will kill nationalism faster than forcing people to choose between it and going to Iraq.

Well, come on mothers throughout the land,
Pack your boys off to Vietnam.
Come on fathers, don't hesitate,
Send 'em off before it's too late.
Be the first one on your block
To have your boy come home in a box.

And it's one, two, three
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam.
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag