RE-enlistments up

A colleague today pointed me to this story by a former colleague. (I was Dave’s editor when he was The State‘s military writer, a service he now performs for USA Today. We were also members of the legendarily bad, and aptly named, softball team — the Cosmic Ha-Has. Small world.)

This story, the thrust of which is that "Soldiers are re-enlisting at rates ahead of the Army’s targets, even as overall recruiting is suffering after two years of the Iraq war," sheds new light on a topic that I addressed in a recent column, light that shows us some good news amid the bad. And it does more than that.

Dave wrote:

Army officials attribute the strong re-enlistment rates to unprecedented cash bonuses and a renewed sense of purpose in fighting terrorism.

The first of those factors can be quantified, and Dave did so in his story — X percentage of soldiers getting between Y and Z amounts in re-up bonuses. But the second part is what strikes me.

Note the contrast: People who are already in the Army, and in many cases exposed to fire in Iraq, are re-enlisting beyond the Army’s hopes and expectations. In other words, the ones who actually know what it’s all about are signing up for additional hitches. Meanwhile, the young people who really don’t know much about the military beyond the 24/7 news reports about IEDs and suicide bombers are not signing up in needed numbers, despite the fact that impressive bonuses and personal benefits are dangled in front of them, too.

Why is that?

Dave quotes Col. Debbra Head, who tracks retention from the Pentagon, as saying that "The biggest thing is that soldiers believe in what they are doing." It’s easy for me to believe that, because I believe in what they’re doing, and I truly appreciate what they’re doing, because I believe it is enormously important to America, to Iraq, to the Mideast and to the world. I believe there’s nothing more important that an American could be doing right now than what they’re doing (they’re certainly making more a contribution than I am). And in their own, quiet way — letting their actions, in re-enlisting, speak for them — they’re letting us know that that’s what they think, too.

8 thoughts on “RE-enlistments up”

Mark Kraft July 19, 2005 at 10:55 am

Hate to say it, but your former collegue who wrote the USA Today article swallowed a story floated from Army officials hook, line, and sinker.
The article, however, does not gibe with the facts on the ground, which is probably something he would know if he actually talked to the soldiers on a routine basis.
Did those same officials from the Army tell your former collegue that the Army has been readjusting their recruitment goals downwards lately? Are you sure that this isn’t the case in this matter?
And what about the deceptive and manipulative practices being used to get soldiers to re-up? Those practices were reported at Fort Collins in Colorado, but would you be surprised to know that they occurred at Fort Bragg too?
These threats are real. I have soldiers and veteran Army officers replying to my journal, telling me about how soldiers are essentially getting forced to serve for years longer than they signed up for.
Take this soldier, for instance. He was told that he had to serve an extra year above the three he signed up for because he was deployed to Germany. That’s nothing, however, compared to the soldiers in his unit who were deployed to the U.S. They had to serve an extra two years! (Read the comments, as it becomes clearer what the situation is.)
So, please, before you unquestioningly spread the good news from the Army brass, talk to the soldiers first!

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Bill McClain July 19, 2005 at 2:06 pm

Brad –
The comment from Mark Kraft no doubt resulted from my posting links to Dave Moniz’ story and your blog to MetaFilter, so blame me.
(By the way, if my last name looks vaguely familiar, my mother, Ruth McClain, was The State‘s newsroom receptionist for several years.)

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iddie makel July 19, 2005 at 5:18 pm

As I read various media reports relative to increasing percentages of racism & discriminatory practices throughout America,I am wondering if anyone else sees the possibility that some minority groups (rightly or wrongly)might believe that this racial escalation is directly related to the Republican takeover of Congress and most of the States?
Secondly,if this perception exists and simmers,isn’t America playing into the hands of our enemies by possibly providing more recruits from within to help defeat her?
Hopefully,there is some other reason for the rise in racism.I am interested in your thoughts/comments.

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Mike Cakora July 20, 2005 at 7:27 am

iddie makel –
What are the “increasing percentages of racism & discriminatory practices throughout America” that you read about? If you don’t have links, an outline and a couple of details would suffice.
Thanks

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Mike Cakora July 21, 2005 at 3:50 pm

Good analysis of reenlistment stats here.

The army is also noticing regional patterns. Recruiting is holding steady in the Midwest, and is up in the South. In other words, the recruiting tends to follow political patterns. The Blue (Democratic) states are sending fewer volunteers, and the Red (Republican) states more. But the Blue/Red state may have more to do with job prospects than political beliefs. Areas where the unemployment rate is the lowest tend to be the toughest for recruiters.
There’s also the reality factor. Troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan are more likely to reenlist. Some of this is due to higher re-enlistment bonuses, but those re-enlisting (and 35 percent of them do it in a combat zone) often say they believe strongly in what they are doing, and that’s why they volunteer to keep doing it. By the end of the year, the army expects to get 4,000 more re-enlistments than it expected. A disproportionate number of these are coming from combat troops, which is very helpful.

And here’s a guy who loves his work.

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iddie makel July 23, 2005 at 7:15 am

Hello Mike,
Thanks for responding.For a start MSNBC has a section “race in America” that covers many incidents.I am astounded that there is still so much racism in the year 2005 and wonder how badly this is hurting America within the world community.The southern poverty law center lists over 500 hate groups within the U.S.,and reports that South Carolina currently has over 40 active hate groups.I assume this is true or someone would sue.Our own Governor recently stated on Television that he did not see the possibility of a minority person achieving a high state office anytime in the near future.I think his honesty speaks volumes,and I don’t think he was being racist,I think he was merely pointing out how sad the state of politics is in South Carolina.The Governor of Maryland who is white was recently taken to task for holding a fund raiser at a private club in Maryland where his own Lt.Governor who is black cannot become a member.The list goes on and on.

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Bob July 28, 2005 at 7:52 am

It’s really amazing how many people have been utterly duped by this story. The army lowered its goals, then exceeded them, and thousands of people are now declaring that re-enlistments are “up.” This is a commentary on both American ignorance and of the desperation of Bush apologists for good news.

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