05-12-2005, 21:57
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#1
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Auxiliary
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 71
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15 month enlistment option now nationwide
U.S. Army offers shorter enlistment to recruits
By Will DunhamThu May 12, 5:07 PM ET
The U.S. Army will allow recruits to sign up for just 15 months of active-duty service, rather than the typical four-year enlistment, as it struggles to lure new soldiers amid the Iraq war, a general said on Thursday.
Maj. Gen. Michael Rochelle, U.S. Army Recruiting Command head, also said this was [/B]"the toughest recruiting climate ever faced by the all-volunteer Army," with the war causing concern among potential recruits and their families and the economy offering civilian job prospects.[/B]
America abolished the draft in 1973 during the tumult of the Vietnam War era and has since relied on a military made up exclusively of volunteers.
Rochelle said the Army this week expanded nationwide a pilot program in place since October 2003 in 10 cities offering recruits the option of a 15-month active-duty enlistment.
In a conference call with reporters, Rochelle expressed concern about a recent spike in recruiting improprieties. The Army said this week it will suspend recruiting on May 20 to counsel its 7,545 recruiters on ethics.
The Army is examining allegations recruiters offered to help people cheat on drug tests or get phony diplomas. In a recent incident in Texas, a recruiter threatened a 20-year-old man with arrest if he did not get to an interview at a recruiting station by a given time.
"Some of the incidents were flying just below my radar," said Rochelle, who acknowledged the stress experienced by recruiters who work nearly 80 hours per week to attract new soldiers.
Army Recruiting Command spokesman Douglas Smith said as of April 29, the Army had fielded 480 allegations of improper conduct by recruiters in fiscal 2005 beginning Oct. 1. So far, there have been 91 substantiated improprieties, with eight recruiters relieved and 98 recruiters admonished, Smith said.
A NEW OPTION
The Army said some young people might want to serve the country but do not want to dedicate the amount of time required by the normal four-year active-duty enlistment.
They will be offered the option of serving 15 months on active duty after completing their training, and then two years in the part-time Army Reserve or National Guard. The soldier then would spend nearly seven years in the Individual Ready Reserve, which requires no training and until recently was rarely mobilized, or serve in a program like the Peace Corps.
Rochelle said he was "cautiously optimistic" the active-duty Army, now 16 percent behind its year-to-date goal, would reach its goal of 80,000 recruits in fiscal 2005, which ends on Sept. 30. It has missed its recruiting targets the past three months, falling short by a whopping 42 percent in April.
He sounded less optimistic about the Army Reserve, currently 21 percent behind its year-to-date goal, saying achieving its annual goal was "not completely foreclosed."
Rochelle predicted a rough 2006 fiscal year. He said while the Army entered fiscal 2005 with about 18 percent of the year's goal met by recruits who had already committed to enlist, the figure will be about 9.9 percent next year, the lowest number in memory.
The Army has taken other steps to try to lure recruits, including increasing by 5 years to 39 the maximum age for enlisting in the Army Reserve and launching a new ad campaign.
The 15-month enlistment pilot program was in place in Albany, New York; Columbia, South Carolina; Miami; Raleigh, North Carolina, Cleveland, Ohio; Kansas City, Missouri; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Sacramento, California; Mission Viejo, California, and San Antonio, Texas.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050512/...dc_1&printer=1
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Most kids my age don't want to go into the Army because of a possible deployment to Iraq. Even under this 15-month program though, their chances of going to the sand box are still almost as high as the standard 3-year AD enlistment.
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Manstein is offline
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05-12-2005, 23:12
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#2
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Area Commander
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Pinehurst,NC
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Quote:
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The Army said some young people might want to serve the country but do not want to dedicate the amount of time required by the normal four-year active-duty enlistment.
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I'm not sure how they determined this to be true, but if it is, it is encouraging. Personally I think everyone should serve in some capacity. Military, Peace Corp or some kind of WPA program. Preferably the military.
Some folks don't believe believe we're at war. It's going to take another 9/11 or worse for them to get the point.
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Last edited by dennisw; 05-13-2005 at 05:56.
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dennisw is offline
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05-13-2005, 03:59
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#3
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Fayetteville
Posts: 13,080
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15 Months
I note that is says 15 months after training. If you take 12 months to get trained then you will serve a total of 27 months. I also note the Reserve/NG/IIR time.
Let's face it guys, for the most part the military runs on privates. If all you can do is a private's job then we don't need a private with step pay over 20 years doing it. That's the old "Up or Out" program. The military does take it a step too far with some ranks and MOSs.
I think somebody who is coming up on two years in the service knows if they hate it and want to get out or like it and will re-up.
I like it but may have voted for 18 months.
Pete
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Pete is offline
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05-13-2005, 07:28
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#4
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Quiet Professional
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Manstein
Most kids my age don't want to go into the Army because of a possible deployment to Iraq. Even under this 15-month program though, their chances of going to the sand box are still almost as high as the standard 3-year AD enlistment.
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Oh with 15 months, you'll go.
You just won't get to go twice like those who signed on for three years will.
TR
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"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - President Theodore Roosevelt, 1910
De Oppresso Liber 01/20/2025
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The Reaper is offline
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05-13-2005, 19:48
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#5
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Can I have a hug, please?
Join Date: Nov 2004
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I wonder if they'll make some MOSs off-limits to those who sign-up for this.
For example any of the highly technical (and sought after in the civilian sector) fields.
T.
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EX-Gold Falcon is offline
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05-13-2005, 20:03
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#6
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Quiet Professional
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by EX-Gold Falcon
I wonder if they'll make some MOSs off-limits to those who sign-up for this.
For example any of the highly technical (and sought after in the civilian sector) fields.
T.
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I can almost guarantee it.
This will be open to shortage MOSes only with a short training cycle, like 11B.
TR
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"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - President Theodore Roosevelt, 1910
De Oppresso Liber 01/20/2025
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The Reaper is offline
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05-13-2005, 21:53
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#7
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Quiet Professional
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by The Reaper
Oh with 15 months, you'll go...You just won't get to go twice like those who signed on for three years will.
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gotta love it...a cloud for every silver lining...
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""A man must know his destiny. if he does not recognize it, then he is lost. By this I mean, once, twice, or at the very most, three times, fate will reach out and tap a man on the shoulder. if he has the imagination, he will turn around and fate will point out to him what fork in the road he should take, if he has the guts, he will take it.""- GEN George S. Patton
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lksteve is offline
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05-13-2005, 23:57
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#8
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Guerrilla
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Southern Puget Sound
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by The Reaper
Oh with 15 months, you'll go.
You just won't get to go twice like those who signed on for three years will.
TR
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A guy in my company (in the 82nd) signed up for 18 months and he already has a short (4 month) deployment under his belt. They could easily stop/loss him in time for the next go-round.
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War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse.
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Weazle23 is offline
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05-14-2005, 00:19
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#9
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Auxiliary
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Portland, OR
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Manstein
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Most kids my age don't want to go into the Army because of a possible deployment to Iraq. Even under this 15-month program though, their chances of going to the sand box are still almost as high as the standard 3-year AD enlistment.
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Imagine if everyone going in the military, (going into the 15 month enlistment) had this train of thought.
Scary.
Last edited by The Dave; 05-14-2005 at 00:21.
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The Dave is offline
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05-14-2005, 05:18
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#10
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Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Central Florida
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by The Dave
Imagine if everyone going in the military, (going into the 15 month enlistment) had this train of thought.
Scary.
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That's the problem, most do.
At the campus here there is general support for the GWOT from the students. They're all gung ho, "go kill a terr" type people. But when you ask them why they haven't signed up it's the same thing; I don't want to go to war and die.
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"Are you listening or just waiting to talk?"
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
"Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing."
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Kyobanim is offline
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05-14-2005, 13:47
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#11
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Auxiliary
Join Date: Nov 2004
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Kyobanim
That's the problem, most do.
At the campus here there is general support for the GWOT from the students. They're all gung ho, "go kill a terr" type people. But when you ask them why they haven't signed up it's the same thing; I don't want to go to war and die.
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Exactly. I tell others of my ambitions after school, and they just ask "Why do you want to go and die?" I just avoid the rest of the conversation, theres no changing these peoples minds.
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The Dave is offline
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05-14-2005, 13:54
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#12
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Manstein
They will be offered the option of serving 15 months on active duty after completing their training, and then two years in the part-time Army Reserve or National Guard. The soldier then would spend nearly seven years in the Individual Ready Reserve
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What do you think the odds are of your Guard or Reserve unit being called up some time during a two year period, or of being mobilized from the IRR during your seven years?
IMHO, you would likely be deployed fewer times with a 36 month AD contract.
TR
__________________
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - President Theodore Roosevelt, 1910
De Oppresso Liber 01/20/2025
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The Reaper is offline
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05-14-2005, 14:35
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#13
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Moderator
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I still say they need to build a FOG brigade. Just make sure there's lots of vehicles in the TO&E. We don't like to car pool.
__________________
"Are you listening or just waiting to talk?"
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
"Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing."
Optimus Prime
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Kyobanim is offline
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05-14-2005, 14:48
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#14
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Quiet Professional
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Kyobanim
I still say they need to build a FOG brigade. Just make sure there's lots of vehicles in the TO&E. We don't like to car pool.
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you mean, the FOGs of War?
__________________
""A man must know his destiny. if he does not recognize it, then he is lost. By this I mean, once, twice, or at the very most, three times, fate will reach out and tap a man on the shoulder. if he has the imagination, he will turn around and fate will point out to him what fork in the road he should take, if he has the guts, he will take it.""- GEN George S. Patton
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lksteve is offline
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05-14-2005, 15:11
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#15
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Quiet Professional
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by lksteve
you mean, the FOGs of War?
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"Cry Havoc and let slip, the FOGs of War!"
Anyone remember the "Walker Brigade" skit?
TR
__________________
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - President Theodore Roosevelt, 1910
De Oppresso Liber 01/20/2025
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