The few, the proud, the bottom of the barrel

US lowers standards in army numbers crisis

Jamie Wilson in WashingtonSaturday June 4, 2005The Guardian

The US military has stopped battalion commanders from dismissing new recruits for drug abuse, alcohol, poor fitness and pregnancy in an attempt to halt the rising attrition rate in an army under growing strain as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

An internal memo sent to senior commanders said the growing dropout rate was "a matter of great concern" in an army at war. It told officers: "We need your concerted effort to reverse the negative trend. By reducing attrition 1%, we can save up to 3,000 initial-term soldiers. That's 3,000 more soldiers in our formations."

Are we really going to lower our standards below a Lynndie England level? How much dumber and vacant eyed do we want our military to be? I want to believe that the American Military Force is filled with physical and intellectual marvels but there is growing evidence to suggest that these poor bastards are being sent to die because they just could not figure out another way to support themselves.

Don't get me wrong I support our soldiers and I want every one of them home safe. But I know that if we cannot send more capable combatants then drug addled high school drop-outs then the soldiers over there are screwed!

At this point the only way to save our troops is to get them the hell out of there! I know that we will lose face around the world. I know that we open ourselves to being threatened and ignored by countries that were intimidated by us in the past. But we should have thought of all of that before we went into Vietraq and engaged in a war that George W.'s father told everybody would be unwinnable. It is too late now. Our reputation is beyond salvaging, but the lives of our boys can and must be saved. Bring them home!

Time will be on our side in the long run. If we elect a competent president in 2008 and spend the next twenty years cleaning up our own house and being supportive to other countries, we just might be able to gain back most of our integrity. We may no longer be a superpower (China is taking that role) but we can keep our country from splitting apart which is what is going to happen if this administration even hints at reinstating the draft. America will see rioting in the streets and Georgie-boy will have to sneak out of the country under cover of darkness.

I have three children of enlistment age and I can tell you that I will fight to the death to keep them from going to die in an illegal war. I am not alone in that sentiment by a long shot. I love my country. It is time to make the hard choices and do what is right.