Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Guard Misses Mark Again

The Army National Guard missed their recruiting goals for the ninth month in a row, and for the seventeenth time in the last eighteen months. They missed their June recruiting goal by 14% and are now over ten thousand recruits behind their 2005 goals.

This isn't going to change anytime soon. The Army guard is racing towards a tipping point with many reservists coming up on their twenty four month maximum call up. Without proper replacements the Guard will not be able to meet it's commitment. So, what do we do?

I have a feeling that in a country of nearly 300 million, if president Bush would issue a call to arms for Americans to pitch in by joining the Guard we could easily make up the deficiencies in recruitment. There is such a disconnect between most Americans and this war that a good many who would join up in a pinch don't do so because they don't know they're needed. This presents a problem for Bush, though. If Bush were to issue such a plea, it would be a de facto admission that his war plan was a failure. These guys never admit failure, even if it means the country suffers.

Look for more of the same.

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