by Frank James
Yet more evidence of the strain the Army is under because of the Iraq War as it tries to meet its goal of 80,000 new recruits this year. Army Times reports that the Army has ordered 1,106 soldiers, former recruiters, away from their current assignments and back to recruiting duty starting on Friday.
Army officials said recently that they were having significant difficulties getting new recruits because of the unpopularity of the Iraq War. Parents and other key “influencers” were successfully talking many would-be candidates from joining the military, according to those officials.
Thus the surge in recruiters to try and turn things around. And as the Army Times story notes, the recruiters will have the incentive to work hard since they will be eligible for a $2000 payment for each recruit they bring in who completes “initial entry training” which sounds like another way of saying basic training.