[Rhodes22-list] Political - 21st Century 'Ernie Pyle"

[Brad Haslett]

Rob,

Here is the original sentence that caught my attention-

 "They are accepting more recruits without high school degrees (30% now) and
recruits accused of and in cases convicted of crimes."

Please forgive me for "schooling" you in American jurisprudence.  Being
accused of a crime and being convicted of a crime are two different things.
Don't ask on a public forum how I know so much about this issue.  My
experience of guiding one young man through the recruiting process taught me
that some pretty minor issues become really big when you're being
recruited.  A lot has to do with security clearances.  I seriously doubt
that recruits with "big ticket" items have much chance for advancement in
the military.

We are at war (whether you agree with the war or the leader that started the
war is immaterial) and more manpower is needed.  I could argue that the
'pool' of HS graduates has declined during the same period due to education
and social issues but let's not expand the discussion.  Your premise was
that fewer youngsters are volunteering, and that may very well be valid.  I
hugged a lot of guys and cried with them when they went off to fight Gulf
War One when we were all in our early thirties. They enjoyed their time as
"weekend warriors" but to a man didn't complain when their number was
called. Had they know when they signed-on that they would be putting
themselves in harm's way and risking their family's financial well being,
they might not have signed on.  Such is the reality of warfare.

Getting back to your premise, you would judge a fight of its worthiness
based on whether the 'best and brightest" are willing to fight it.  There's
always the solution of the draft.  Liberals would love nothing more than to
hear that brandished about to support their case.

Rob, this war isn't popular.  Wars aren't supposed to be popular.  But
frankly (and I'm just guessing here) you really don't give a shit about the
average 'foot soldier' or the health of the military community.

Brad






On Tue, Apr 22, 2008 at 8:03 AM, Rob Lowe <rlowe at vt.edu> wrote:

> Brad,
> Here's a couple I found. I'm not sure what you consider credible, but it
> sounds like these stories were all based on the same analysis. - rob
>
>
> http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2008/01/23/army_recruits_with_diplomas_hit_25_year_low/
>
>
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/22/AR2008012203326.html
>
> http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18427597
>
> It looks like the military's own data showed a drop off in the late 1990's
> for some branches of service, but the percentages have rebounded.  The
> data
> stopped at 2004 however.
>
>
> http://www.defenselink.mil/prhome/poprep2004/enlisted_accessions/education.html
>
> The link to the original National Priorities Project report is listed
> below.
>
> http://www.nationalpriorities.org/militaryrecruiting2007
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Brad Haslett" <flybrad at gmail.com>
> To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> Sent: Friday, April 18, 2008 11:24 AM
> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Political - 21st Century 'Ernie Pyle"
>
>
> > Rob,
> >
> > I'm out the door and headed for the hangar but one part of your response
> > caught my attention.
> >
> > "They are accepting more recruits without high school degrees (30% now)
> and
> > recruits accused of and in cases convicted of crimes".
> >
> > Please give me a credible reference for that statement. That is
> completely
> > opposite my recent experience working with armed forces recruiters (with
> my
> > son), and the many fellow pilots I work with who are still commanders in
> > various Marine, Air Force, and Naval reserve units (we are
> under-represented
> > by Army) including three Generals (one a two-star).
> >
> > Brad
> >
>
>
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