Army’s ‘middle ranks are dwindling.’
By on Jul 16th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
Army’s ‘middle ranks are dwindling.’
While the Army boasts that it is exceeding retention rates, it is actually “losing more front-line sergeants and other noncommissioned officers than it can afford to.” The retention rate for soldiers who have served between six and eight years is below the mark, meaning that the military is losing “the leaders it believes it needs to press two wars and train its expanding force.”
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Maybe if the ranks dwindle further there wont be enough NCO’s to run the war in Iraqnam and Bush will finally have to pull everyone out. That is, of course, unless there is a huge influx of Neocon war supports who enlist to make up the shortfall.
July 16th, 2007 at 4:26 pmSoon, it’ll Be Bush as Commander In Chief, General Peety Wheatstraw, the devil’s son-in-law, and some poor kid from Iowa. Bush and Peety will blame the kid.
July 16th, 2007 at 4:26 pmThe left cheers!
July 16th, 2007 at 4:27 pmThe right maligns fallen soldiers.
July 16th, 2007 at 4:31 pmSo why is it we should only trust Republicans on national security again?
July 16th, 2007 at 4:31 pmThe Right hates our soldiers!
July 16th, 2007 at 4:36 pmJeez, can’t imagine why they wouldn’t want stay. Working side-by-side with better-paid and better-equipped private mercenaries should be a morale booster.
July 16th, 2007 at 4:40 pm“The left cheers!
Comment by Unvarnished Truth”
Yes, the left always cheers when the truth sinks in, I hope those sargents live long happy lives with all their limbs intact. You want them to die in the desert because you aren’t man enough to admit you were wrong. it’s a shame you didn’t use varnish, it stops wood from rotting in the rain and it might have saved your fencepost of a brain.
July 16th, 2007 at 4:42 pmRepublicans have allways hated middle and low income citizens, the same people they say we don’t support, the troops.
July 16th, 2007 at 4:43 pmWell, if Darth has in mind to disband the US military so he can own the mercenary palace guards, he is doing a “heckuva job”.
Any other time in history, and the whole cabal would have been impeached and jailed, but these aren’t other times, due to the lack of leadership on both sides of the aisle. One side is afraid of getting shot in the face and the other is afraid of looking wimpy. What a bunch of losers!
July 16th, 2007 at 4:44 pmbob, they aren’t interested in things like truth, because truth takes facts, and sometimes science. Two of the things they fear the most.
July 16th, 2007 at 4:44 pmThe retention rate for soldiers who have served between six and eight years is below the mark.
Wow, there’s a shocker! I AM one of those NCO’s. 7.5 years active. I re-enlisted for one reason only…free medical for my son.
The idea of being married every other year just didn’t appeal to my wife at the time. But then our son was born with special needs and he company allowed me to remain behind with the rear detachment. With our son’s health becoming more stable, my temporary reprieve from deployments will be up soon, and she will be taking care of 4 kids alone.
The reason these NCO’s aren’t re-upping: No amount of tax-free $’s are worth being in Iraq. As a truck driver, I saw fellow Soldiers return from Iraq and they knew, beyond a doubt, that they weren’t gonna re-enlist and have to go back.
July 16th, 2007 at 4:50 pmSelf-preservation is kickin’ the Army’s a$$. New recruits come in and don’t know what’s up, one tour and their minds are made up.
The Army knows this and that, I suspect, is why these Soldiers are doing 3 tours in 4 years and whatnot. The Army is using them for all they’re worth, knowing that they won’t be staying, statistically. They entice the younger Soldiers with big bonuses and fast promotions (to fill the missing gaps) before they’re ready for leadership a lot of times.
Guys like me, dont stay without a reason, and patriotism might count for a lot of it,, but I doubt a flag will be of much comfort to my wife if I don’t return.
The strain on the families is why reenlistment numbers are down. Young NCO’s are at just the right age to start a family and get married. These long and frequent deployment are hardest on young and newlywed families, it’s no wonder they’d rather spend their time together than every other year apart.
Now with 15 month deployments, I suspect you’ll see a mass exodus from the Army. Especially truck driver’s, you can’t pay them enough to wanna go back there and face those roads. Will they? With courage and honor! Will they volunteer to do it again? Some, but not as many as the Army would like.
Working side-by-side with better-paid and better-equipped private mercenaries should be a morale booster.
Comment by Elliott
That’s another thing, some of them can’t wait to get out and go to work for KBR. One Soldier I saw back in Germany after we returned said he made 3x as much in half the time working for KBR rather than the Army.
July 16th, 2007 at 4:52 pmComment by SGT Higgins — July 16, 2007 @ 4:50 pm
Thanks, Sarge.
Brilliant as usual.
July 16th, 2007 at 4:54 pmComment by SGT Higgins
Don’t be coming around here with your facts and experience, Sarge, it really upsets the trolls. To them, it’s just proof that you’re a Stalinist tool.
July 16th, 2007 at 4:54 pmSgt. Higgins,
Thank you for your service and I feel for your situation, which is not unlike many other enlistees, I am assuming. They came for the money and for the honor and found too little of the first and were dissed by their Commander-Guy leadership, which is hurting the second.
July 16th, 2007 at 4:54 pmComment by Egreggious — July 16, 2007 @ 4:54 pm
As usual? I’m all giddy now, and you’re to blame. lol
Comment by gummitch — July 16, 2007 @ 4:54 pm
To them, it’s just proof that you’re a Stalinist tool. — Yeah, well it pays the bills. lol I’ll tone it down a bit…..some other day. lol
Comment by upside00 — July 16, 2007 @ 4:54 pm
July 16th, 2007 at 5:02 pmThank you for your service — My privilege. Thank YOU!
i commented this morning about a tax free sign on bonus
July 16th, 2007 at 5:07 pmbeing offered to re-up…
another caller related a story of a friend who was offered
a better deal to sign up with [blackwater]…
…
Guess the trolls have no talking points for this thread. Me thinks they are running on empty, running blind! (W/thanks to Jacksone Browne)
July 16th, 2007 at 5:11 pmOK conservatives, here’s your opportunity. Put the f*ck up, or shut the f*ck up.
July 16th, 2007 at 5:16 pmi commented this morning about a tax free sign on bonus
being offered to re-up…
another caller related a story of a friend who was offered
a better deal to sign up with [blackwater]…
…
Comment by katy
These are the symptoms of a Conflict Capitalist economy, which feeds off of itself as a “warrior class” of professional fighters is created.
July 16th, 2007 at 5:21 pmThis warrior class has it’s roots in the market media which glamourizes competition, aggression, control, suppresssion of new ideas, and the ‘polite’ thievery of corporate entities as they keep their consumer base addicted and debt-ridden.
Well, war supporters & assorted Bush loyalists, there is great career opportunity for you.
All this time you have been whining about the “War on Terror” -here is your chance to contribute your little grain of sand to your Dear (mis)Leader’s quest to
rid Iraq of WMDspread democracy in the Middle Eastprotect the US from terror attacksbuild a reconciled Iraq.Or whatever the reason of the month is…
July 16th, 2007 at 5:21 pmMiddle ranks huh? Something about the right and their “have’s and have not’s”/”us or them” perspective is not conducive to a middle….of anything.
July 16th, 2007 at 5:23 pmOK conservatives, here’s your opportunity. Put the f*ck up, or shut the f*ck up.
Comment by Namtillaku — July 16, 2007 @ 5:16 pm
—————————————————————
America is about freedom, these Soldiers are free to do as they see fit. If it is to serve our country, then God Bless them. If it is to seek work elsewhere, then God Bless them.
God Bless the USA!
July 16th, 2007 at 5:27 pmMr. President, is that all America is about as far as your concerned? I thought it was more than that. What about truth and justice?
July 16th, 2007 at 5:29 pmSoon, it’ll Be Bush as Commander In Chief, General Peety Wheatstraw, the devil’s son-in-law, and some poor kid from Iowa. Bush and Peety will blame the kid.
Comment by Marcus Aurelius
Hey, Peetie Wheatstraw, the self-proclaimed “High Sheriff of Hell”, was pretty cool in his time. Don’t link his name w/ Herr Bru$ch.
July 16th, 2007 at 5:29 pmComment by Mr. President — July 16, 2007 @ 5:27 pm
You have sh*t upon the Constitution, showed no regard for the rule of law, and cheered when a man who had committed treason was set free by a president with complicity in the crime. Don’t bother to talk to me about justice. Don’t bother to talk to me about decency. Don’t bother to talk to me about America. You have no idea what
these things are, punk. Take your case to the Attorney General.
Your very existence is an insult to every Soldier who fought and died for principles you cannot begin to grasp. Your attempt to insult one of those Soldiers here was simply the last straw.
July 16th, 2007 at 5:31 pmComment by Raven — July 16, 2007 @ 5:21 pm
good to have you back… firefighting out west, right?…
this contractor over run kinda snuck up, didn’t it?
i had no idea those guys were almost 1/1 with the service
members until just recently…
that’s illegal – war profiteering is illegal… yea, right…
July 16th, 2007 at 5:33 pmused to be…
Why does the chymp hate our sergeants?
July 16th, 2007 at 5:34 pmYour very existence is an insult to every Soldier who fought and died
Comment by Egreggious — July 16, 2007 @ 5:31 pm
I by no means intend to detract from your statement, but I would like to add that Mr. P’s existence is an insult to Soldiers still alive, as well.
July 16th, 2007 at 5:36 pmMr. President, is that all America is about as far as your concerned? I thought it was more than that. What about truth and justice?
Comment by Jay — July 16, 2007 @ 5:29 pm
——————————————————————————-
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness
truth and justice are too subjective
July 16th, 2007 at 5:43 pmMaligning a dead soldier is subjective.
July 16th, 2007 at 5:44 pmMr. P…apparently your name is Mudd here. We have grown tired of your reckless disrespect for human life and for the very Soldiers who protect your shores.
This is what you have to look forward too everytime you darken our doorstep.
Thanks SGT for your post at 12.
July 16th, 2007 at 5:46 pmtruth and justice are too subjective
Comment by Mr. President
But stupidity and cowardice are forever.
July 16th, 2007 at 5:48 pmSGT. We hear that many experienced mid-level Officers are being recruited by the contracters. Do you know if there is any real truth to this?
July 16th, 2007 at 5:49 pmThanks SGT for your post at 12.
Comment by willyloman
My pleasure……also my opinion. I trust that came through, though.
July 16th, 2007 at 5:50 pmSGT. Higgens. There is an article in the Nation I think you would be interested in. 50 or so Soldiers talking about what they went through there and standing policies that they don’t think reflect well on the US Military.
Have you seen it?
July 16th, 2007 at 5:55 pmHave you seen it?
Comment by willyloman
No I haven’t, I’ll check it out.
Thanks.
Gonna run, take care all.
July 16th, 2007 at 5:56 pmHup toop threep forp,
July 16th, 2007 at 5:58 pmhup toop threep forp……….
Well they all go over to Blackwater! The money is better! The lower ranks when their tour is up leave and Blackwater is at their front door!
Thats why the enlistment numbers are low…and reenlistments!
July 16th, 2007 at 6:05 pmTo solve this “recruiting problem”, Bush needs to launch the ROME Strategy. Just hire Blackwater to fight the war, bring our soldiers home, and pay for it all with Borrowed Chinese Money.
July 16th, 2007 at 6:13 pmToo subjective? The truth is not subjective unless you listen to Limbaugh or count on FoxNews as a source of information. Right-wing truth may be subjective, but I don’t live in that universe.
July 16th, 2007 at 6:24 pmThis is also a sign of the effectiveness of the guerrillas fighting us. The first rule of guerrilla warfare is: Target patrol leaders. Once the Sargent, or corporal, or (gasp) lieutenant goes down, the others tend to panic providing easy targets. Or, they collect their dead, and wounded, and withdraw. Either way the guerrillas achieve their immediate goals.
July 16th, 2007 at 7:21 pmThanks, Sgt. Higgins.
Sen Lindsey Graham said enlistments are higher than ever — of course the facts belie what he says, but that is no deterrence for him.
July 16th, 2007 at 7:34 pm“Our military is low on parts, pay and morale. If called on by the commander-in-chief today, two entire divisions of the Army would have to report, “Not ready for duty, sir.”" – The Commander Guy Bush at the RNC in 2000
July 16th, 2007 at 7:34 pmI remember Cheney”s speech at the GOP convention used the tag line “Help is on the way” for our military. Help indeed for the defense contractors and weapons makers….lethally incompetent planning for the boots on the ground.
July 16th, 2007 at 7:52 pmToo subjective? The truth is not subjective unless you listen to Limbaugh or count on FoxNews as a source of information. Right-wing truth may be subjective, but I don’t live in that universe.
Comment by Jay — July 16, 2007 @ 6:24 pm
Well, I was trying to let you down easy, however, since you got all Typical Lefty Elitist, let me fill you in on something:
July 16th, 2007 at 8:28 pmTHERE IS NO SUCH THING AS TRUTH!!!
(other than logical truths, which can be known a priori, and the truths of mathematics)
Mr. President:
Welcome to geometry land! Triangle man will now beat you senseless.
There are other definitions of truth than the one that you cling to, and they have meaning in our reality.
Here’s truth for you: the prime minister of Iraq does not want us there. That makes us invaders. We don’t get to decide, it’s his country.
July 17th, 2007 at 12:51 amthe prime minister of Iraq does not want us there
Comment by Fran — July 17, 2007 @ 12:51 am
———————————————————–
How do you know?
(I’m an empiricist, don’t mess with me)
July 17th, 2007 at 1:19 amHe said so! Okay, I didn’t hear him, but it’s widely reported, nobody is denying that he said it. He either said it or he didn’t. Do you think he said it?
Mr. Empiricist, if you plunge your hand into boiling water, will it burn? If you send not enough troops under false pretenses into a war where they have no idea who the enemy is and they are not wanted, how do you win? Do you really think a hundred thousand or so troops are going to keep 26 million people from fighting with each other, when very few of them trust us, their leader wants us gone, and our leaders doesn’t give a shit about what happens to the troops?
Usually people who brag about their reasoning skills bring some of them to the table with them. All I hear from you is name-calling. Come on, dazzle us with your brilliance. Show us all how we are wrong and it’s all going to work out. If you can’t do that, what is your point here?
Clearly Mr. Empiricist is cherry-picking the ideas that support his delusion and ignoring everything that disproves it. Mr. Empiricist is a fraud.
July 17th, 2007 at 3:23 amHe said so!
…
Comment by Fran — July 17, 2007 @ 3:23 am
————————————————————————-
And as a true empiricist, all that this tells me, is that he said so, no more no less.
From an empirical standpoint, words are nothing but observations, their true meanings are not known by anyone except the speaker.
For example, one could observe a man crying and infer that the man was sad. However, he could also be an actor practicing a role. One could then go up to the man and ask “Hey, man. You alright?” and the man could say, “Oh, yeah, I’m just practicing my lines for a play, I’m not sad at all.”
However, since we can not “get under his skin” to feel what he feels, and to find out what he is truly thinking about, we still do not know if he is lying (and he is really just too embarassed to tell us why he is crying) or if he is really telling the truth.
The meaning of words, subjective as well.
Yours truly,
Mr. President
July 17th, 2007 at 8:26 amTP’s President of Trolls
Empirical data.
Number of Iraqis dead, in Iraq, as a result of U.S. policy= unknown but estimated at, up to, a half million.
Number of U.S. citizens dead, in America, as a result of Iraqi policy= ZERO
July 17th, 2007 at 5:32 pm