If this were another country there would be heightened "chatter?" about bribes.





http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070809/ap_on_...tive_recruiting

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Army to expand recruiting incentives By KIMBERLY HEFLING, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 7 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - Need a down-payment for your home? Seed money to start a business? The Army wants to help — if you're willing to join up. Despite spending nearly $1 billion last year on recruiting bonuses and ads, Army leaders say an even bolder approach is needed to fill wartime ranks.


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Under a new proposal, men and women who enlist could pick from a "buffet" of incentives, including up to $45,000 tax-free that they accrue during their career to help buy a home or build a business. Other options would include money for college and to pay off student loans.

An Associated Press review of the increasingly aggressive recruiting offerings found the Army is not only dangling more sign-up rewards — it's loosening rules on age and weight limits, education and drug and criminal records.

It's all part of an Army effort to fill its ranks even as the percentage of young people who say they plan to join the military has hit a historic low — 16 percent by the Pentagon's own surveying — in the fifth year of the Iraq war.

In June, the Army failed to meet its recruitment target for the second month in a row, although it apparently met its goal to recruit 9,750 troops in July and is on target for 80,000 for the year that ends Sept. 30.

As part of a push to make its 2007 goals, the Army is boosting the size of its 8,000-member recruiting force with 1,000 to 2,000 assistants — including some former recruiters.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants to increase the size of the active-duty Army by 65,000 to a total of 547,000 within five years. In part, that's to ease the wartime strain on the Army, which is the largest branch of the military.

"Recruiting next year and beyond will remain challenging and will ... require additional innovative approaches," said Lt. Col. Michael Rochelle, the Pentagon's deputy chief of staff for personnel. He asked lawmakers last week on Capitol Hill for money to pay for the new program.

Rochelle described the latest offering as an updated version of the Army's college fund, a popular program started in 1982 to help soldiers pay for college.

The Army would like to start a pilot program targeting 500 people who might not otherwise considering joining. In the pilot, the takers who complete a 4-year enlistment would be eligible for up to $30,000 in incentives — including money for a home loan or business. Eventually, the Army wants to offer up to $45,000.

Beyond the Iraq war, the military says other factors have affected its ability to recruit. More high school graduates are going to college, and the economy is strong, providing lots of civilian jobs. At the same time, only three of 10 people between 17 and 24 fully meet the military's standards.

Less obvious factors have also decreased the recruitment pool. They include higher obesity rates, more people diagnosed with mental health conditions such as attention-deficit disorder, more criminal citations due to the increase of the drinking age from 18 to 21.

"The numbers of people who meet our enlistment standards is astonishingly low," said Michael Dominguez, principal deputy undersecretary of defense.

Among the changes that have helped attract more recruits:

• Increasing to $20,000 the bonus for troops who join by Sept. 30 and leave for boot camp within a month.

• Raising the enlistment age to 42.

• Allowing recruits to come in with non-offensive tattoos on their hands and neck.

• Offering a $2,000 bonus to Army soldiers who refer a new recruit.

• Enlisting recruits who don't meet weight standards and must trim down their first year.

• Advertising that targets potential recruits' parents.

• Increasing the number of recruits with general education diplomas rather than regular high school diplomas.

• Creating a more pleasant boot camp environment.

• Sending "gung-ho" soldiers fresh from boot camp or war zones back to their hometowns to visit old friends and schoolmates to promote the Army.

• Increasing to more than 15 percent the number of Army and Army Reserve troops given waivers for medical and moral reasons or for positive drug and alcohol screen tests.

Tyka Pettey, 21, of Philadelphia, said she was fully aware of the risks when she signed up in late July for a six-year stint in the Army Reserve. Doing so will help her pay to go to college in a medical field. With her $20,000 bonus, she plans to buy a car and pay off debt.

She said she had been thinking about joining for more than a year. Once she made the decision, she said she was impressed with how much the recruiters in Upper Darby, Pa., were able to help her.

"You really have to want to do something like that. You're really taking a major step from your civilian life ... but I just decided to go for it," said Pettey, who leaves in about a week for boot camp.

The Army spent $353 million last year on enlistment bonuses, $583 million on recruiting and advertising and $700 million on pay and benefits for recruiters, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said her organization is concerned that low-income young people and minorities are targeted by recruiters and lured with promises into making decisions they would not otherwise have made.

"I think as the incentives increase, the potential for misrepresentation and abuse increases," Lieberman said.

Irene Fiala, a sociology professor at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania who has researched recruiting trends, said the military is attempting to change with society because the days are over when it was an American virtue to join and it was expected that all young men would do so.

"Uncle Sam pointing his finger at you saying, 'We want you,' isn't cutting it for today's kids," Fiala said. "Today's kids are saying, 'Yeah, you want me and so does GE and so does MIT, so what else are you going to offer me?'"

It's not just the attitudes of young people that have seemingly shifted. In 2005, statistical surveys revealed that because of the Iraq war, adults who work with students were less likely to suggest joining the military.

"The willingness of coaches, teachers, counselors and parents to commend military service to America's youth is lower than is good for our nation and our military," said Dominguez, the Defense Department official.

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Associated Press writer Pauline Jelinek contributed to this report.
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A horse by any other name...........


lenal

First you break the unions (Reagan)

Then you export the high-paying jobs (Clinton)

Then you offer a life (and death) in the military (Bush)

Miss Utah Credits Military Service With Her Civilian Success
By Jamie Findlater
Special to American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, (05/05/2008) - As the reigning Miss Utah and as a combat medic who has deployed to Afghanistan with her National Guard unit, Sgt. Jill Stevens said her experiences as a soldier have helped her in her civilian life. In an interview on the “ASY Live” program on BlogTalkRadio.com, Stevens said her experience from November 2003 to April 2005 taking care of up to 40 patients on any given day at the Bagram Air Base medical aid station gave her the determination and adaptability that are paramount to her success in other aspects of her life.

"Being a soldier, you are really trained to adapt to any situation," she said, "and it has really prepared me for civilian life."

Stevens, who serves in the Utah National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 211th Aviation Regiment, joined the National Guard in 2001. She said her military life and her civilian life aren’t as different as some people might think.

"A lot of people think these paths are so different and that I live a dichotomy, but there's a reason I am involved in both organizations,” she said. “Both the military and the Miss America Association promote education [and] teach you to be a leader, think on your feet and stay in shape and, above all, to serve your country," she said.

During her service in Afghanistan, Stevens said, she developed a great deal of pride for her country, particularly for the women who serve in the military. During her deployment, she competed in the inaugural marathon race at Bagram and was the first woman to finish. Stevens now has completed 14 marathons, and she said the one in Afghanistan "was one of the toughest."

"Here I was a woman, running in a country where women were mistreated, defiled and oppressed. … I was angered as I was running, but at the same time proud -- proud to be not only an American woman but an American soldier fighting for their worth,” she said.

She said she thought of Afghanistan’s women every step of the way, and it carried her to the finish line.

“We are making a difference,” she said. “I know these women are realizing their worth, and some are taking a stand to determine their place in the world."

During her deployment, Stevens said, it was important to keep morale high for the continued strength of the force.

"I was there to take care of the physical injuries,” she said, “but I also really saw the emotional side. I saw firsthand that keeping the morale high really helps our soldiers perform better."

“ASY Live” on BlogTalkRadio.com is part of the Defense Department’s America Supports You program, which connects citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad. Stevens recalled the touches from home that helped her most during her deployment.

"Thoughtful gifts meant a lot to me -- favorite foods or an encouraging e-mail was great, [because] it meant so much that they took time to think about me," she explained. She took the importance of boosting morale a step further with her own personal cause to encourage her fellow servicemembers.

"Since we had electricity over there, I was like, ‘Mom, send me a bread machine!’ she said. “Whenever I heard they were having a rough day, I baked bread for the soldiers … just to boost their spirits."

Another important memory of her deployment, Stevens said, was the opportunity to interact with local children despite the language barrier.

"You speak different languages; you’ve grown up in really different cultures,” she said. “We would communicate with the kids by smiling and making funny faces."

Back in the United States after her deployment, Stevens acknowledged, she had the wrong idea about pageants before she got involved in that aspect of her life.

"All I thought these girls did was just wave their hand and look pretty, and that was not something I wanted to be associated with," she said.

That was before she learned that pageant titleholders can make a difference by their ability to serve as spokeswomen and form organizations. "I love to serve, I love to give back,” she said. “That's why I am a soldier and a nurse."

The realization that a pageant title could help her make a difference, Stevens said, is when she "learned how to put on make-up instead of camouflage paint."

Stevens said she was impressed by the support she received from other soldiers when she decided to pursue the Miss America title.

"I have brothers and sisters around the world that are so supportive, and I know that whatever it is, they’ve got your back,” she said.

During her pageant, she recalled, 100 soldiers were in the audience, cheering her on. “I didn't know half of them,” she said, “but they came to support another soldier.

This continued support from her “family” of servicemembers is now an important part of who she is and will help keep her focused toward her next goal, said Stevens, who will hold her Miss Utah title until July.

"There is so much negative publicity on the news today, and optimism is important,” she said. Looking forward, Stevens said, she will rely on her military experience and connection to maintain her optimism and carry her into her next endeavor.

"Wherever you go, if you wear the uniform or sport the military ID card, you connect with people immediately," she said. "I know that will always be a part of me."

(Jamie Findlater works in the New Media branch of American Forces Information Service.)