Warren writes:
How can you say that retention and enlistment is up or meeting goals when stop loss and now the Marines calling up people who have completed their tours?
At least be honest about one thing in this mess.
Well Warren you asked for it.
Warren,
What is it with you anti-war types, you never comment on a post that is current. Why comment on a post written in April when it is almost September?
Now having said that I'm going to educate you some on the numbers concerning enlistment and re-enlistment rates:
Via Adventurepan: Military recruiting for June once again met or exceeded goals across all four branches:
Marines: 105%
Army: 102%
Air Force: 101%
Navy: 100%
You’ll note that the Marine Corps and Army, responsible for fielding most of the forces on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, have exceeded their goals by the largest margins, despite having higher target numbers than the other branches. They achieved this in the face of a mainstream media attempting to portray the military as rapists, racists, and murderers based up the alleged actions of a handful of men.
Since October 1, all four branches have met or exceed their goals:
Army: 104%
Marines: 101%
Air Force: 101%
Navy: 100%
Reserve forces recruiting has not been as even, but interesting enough, the Reserve and Guard forces most likely to be called upon for ground combat overseas (Army National Guard, Army Reserves, Marine Corps Reserves) have been the most successful in recruiting.
Having supplied you with some facts you obviously were missing let’s look at what you are implying in your comment.
First, you seem to be implying that by using stop-loss i.e., a soldier in theatre is kept in theatre until the mission is complete even if they were to PCS or ETS during that time frame is somehow egregious and illegal. Let me put it differently, you are the owner of a Software Company you are on a deadline to finish a project but two of your four programmers are set to start new projects in two days. Its going to take a minimum of 8 days for all four programmers to finish this project which if it doesn’t get finished and delivered on time could effectively close your doors forever. Do you let those two programmers go onto the new project or do you “stop-loss” them to save the entire company?
Stop-loss simply keeps the people on the job on the job until its finished. Is it fair, no, but it happens in every industry everyday of the week. Get over it.
Second, soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marine’s sign up for a minimum number of years of service, it happens to be 8 years. You can perform those 8 years anyway you like for instance, 4 years Active duty and 4 years in the Guard, Reserves or Inactive Ready Reserve (IRR), or any combination thereof as long as the total commitment equals 8 years of duty. IRR soldiers are at the beck and call of the Government and are subject to recall to active duty at anytime. It’s in their contract. It’s not a back-door draft nor is it illegal; it once again is a fact of life for service members. People who have a problem with this can be placed in to one of two categories:
1) People who have never served,
2) People who have served and refuse to be accountable for their signature. (H/T Brando)
I’m placing you in Category 1 (Cat1) simply because I don’t like your tone. You may be a fellow vet for all I know, I don’t care to me you are Cat1 a non-server stealing from the table of freedom. If it turns out you are a fellow vet then you will have the honor of being dumped in the scum sucking Category 2 as a man who has no honor and refused to honor his own signature.
Are people in the IRR that get activated going to get pissed? Sure, but you know what, people get pissed when they have to park more than 10 feet from the McDonald’s front door and they might have to walk a little bit more before they can shovel down their 2nd Big Mac while on their way to another 5000 calorie day. I don’t give a shit, ruck it up mate and drive on, the thing you fail to mention is that for the most part the IRR soldiers are doing just that, they are rucking it up and driving forward to accomplish the mission.
Finally, since you have struck me as the “We never sent enough men in the first place,” type, why are you bitching now that we are sending over more men and material so as to make Al Qaeda in Iraq’s life miserable and end this war as soon as possible? Isn’t that the goal here, to end the war? That’s what I hear from your hero’s on the left practically everyday on the newscasts; “Bring them home now!” “Stop this war!” Isn’t that your rallying cry? If that is the case why are you complaining that this administration is finally getting its head out of its fourth point of contact and sending in enough men and material to assure victory? The only explanation I can think of is that you really don’t want US to win at all. You really want US to come home with a bloody nose and sulk in our room for the next ten years hoping beyond hope that no one will notice that the Left has effectively neutered the American Military.
For someone who demands that I be honest when discussing re-enlistment rates your misuse of the facts is dishonest to say the least. I really wish you bleeding heart types would just come right out and say it and stop hiding behind some feigned support for the troops; we don’t need your kind of support. To quote Mr. Stokely from the post you commented upon:
“[P]rotest to your heart's desire; speak out against the war and disagree with me and my son and the views we held together; but, please have the courtesy andIf you hate the war, then just say so, and don’t hide behind the troops that are protecting your right to be wrong.
dignity to respect his good name and not use it for expressing your viewpoint. Mike Stokely didn't force you to go along with him; you should not now be selfish and disrespectful and force him to be a part of your exhibit, or any other soldier for that matter.”
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