From Reuters this afternoon, via Yahoo News.... an excerpt. Read the entire story here.
Army recruits shortfall blamed on Iraq war critics
Several Senate Republicans denounced other lawmakers and the news media on Thursday for unfavorable depictions of the Iraq war and the Pentagon urged members of Congress to talk up military service to help ease a recruiting shortfall.
Families are discouraging young men and women from enlisting "because of all the negative media that's out there," Sen. James Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican, said at a U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. Inhofe also said that other senators' criticism of the war contributed to the propaganda of U.S. enemies. He did not name the senators.
Army Chief of Staff Peter Schoomaker urged members of Congress to use "your considerable influence to explain to the American people and to those that are influencers out there how important it is for our young people to serve this nation at a time like this."
The Army on Wednesday said it was 14 percent, or about 7,800 recruits, behind its year-to-date recruitment target even though it exceeded its monthly target in June. With extended deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, recruiting also is down for the National Guard and the Reserves.
Ok, here's my suggestion to the Senate Republicans who want to shore up the armed forces recruiting efforts: Set a good example....each of you be responsible for immediately enlisting one of your family members as an entry-level soldier charged with Iraq War duties. Put your family where your mouth is.
Be sure to read my article, Uncle Sam Guns for High School Students as Army Enlistees: Military Recruiting on High School Campuses and at Homes.
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