The proverbial military good deal

[Triumph]

Army is hard up for soldiers. Working over here with the Kentucky National Guard has been very telling - the motor pool guys are 50+ years old, and there are guys going out on missions, getting blown up, looking for IEDs, who are in their late 30's and 40's. Great bunch of guys, and they're certainly capable, but it's just very telling of the current state of affairs for the Army.

 

[lupi]

Originally posted by: GarfieldtheCat
@lupi - Excuse me, partisan hack?

I don't understand your link between pro athlete wannabee = want to be soldier. So you might have a bunch of athletic teenagers getting into USMA, but when 99% don't get drafted, are they really going to be enthusiastic about actually getting commissioned? I'm sure some will be, but some (lot? little?) won't. Will most put in their minimum duty time, and bail?

Recruiting is good, and I know they aren't meeting goals. But having more wannabe pro's isn't going to help, at least IMHO. Just like west point is being used by some people to get a free education, then bail out as soon as possible to go to Wall street (or wherever), we don't need people trying to become NFL stars. We need people that want to be career army officers going there, that's all.

And I also don't understand your comment about the tooth:tail ratio. Historically, the military has always been short on combat officer slots (platoon leaders, company commanders) in combat.

Recruiting is about more than just filling west point. And if you don't understand an armies logistical tail perhaps you should do more reading before talking about military matters.