Let Them Eat War - More Poor to fill the Army's Ranks

"The Army last month stopped accepting felons and recent drug abusers into its ranks as the nation's economic downturn helped its recruiting, allowing it to reverse a decline in recruiting standards that had alarmed some officers.

While shunning those with criminal backgrounds, the Army is also attracting better-educated recruits. It is on track this year to meet, for the first time since 2004, the Pentagon's goal of ensuring that 90 percent of recruits have high school diplomas.

The developments mark a welcome turnaround for the Army, which has the military's biggest annual recruiting quota and had in recent years issued more waivers for recruits with criminal records. That, coupled with unprecedented strains from repeated deployments, led some senior officers to voice concerns that wartime pressures threatened to break the all-volunteer force.

Now, though, rising unemployment, security gains in Iraq and other factors have helped make military service more attractive and have allowed recruiters to be more choosy, according to military officials and Pentagon data."

Continued.....

Above all, the economic crisis has increased unemployment and reduced job opportunities -- particularly in sectors that tend to employ young people, said Curtis Gilroy, the Pentagon's top recruiting official.

When the recession hits the service sector, "everything from McDonald's to cutbacks at Best Buy and some of the more entry-level jobs . . . this impacts young people more. Those who are last hired tend to be first fired," Gilroy said. "They would then view the military option more favorably."

Another factor has been improved security in Iraq, officials said. "Casualties are way down, neighborhoods are safer, and that has proved a significant factor," Gilroy said.

American youth are increasingly likely to join the military, recent Pentagon polling has shown. Those ages 16 to 21 who said they would "definitely" or "probably" serve in the military in the next few years rose from 9 percent in December 2007 to 13 percent last December, according to Defense Department Youth Polls.

The gains in recruiting are leading the Army to cut its recruiting budget and scale back some bonuses and incentives. The service plans to cut 1,100 active-duty, Reserve and contract recruiters over the next two years, Anderson said."--Army More Selective as Economy Lags



The Bush Admin had so many problems getting willing people to fight their wars that they started to accept Category IV soldiers. Now that the wealth controllers of this country have done their best to purge the middle class they can now find more admirable and respectful people to serve....for what purpose it's hard to tell.

The military is being used as a stop gap for rising unemployment or people with no immediate opportunity straight out of high school....much like I went through when I finished high school. You can probably expect another military campaign in the near future in hopes that we can see post WWII 'prosperity' again.