Squawk-back at the Chickenhawks III

Rey Dominguez, Jr. (Dec. 9 1340 or 0140 p.m.) posted the following:

Karl,

Have you actually ever looked at the recruitment numbers? The US Army was short by about 7% of the goal but averaged over a 5 year period, their numbers don't vary by more than a couple hundred men. Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard are at 100%. Now the shocker - USMC at 102%. No, I am not providing a link, go find it yourself, like I did.

Rey-

Accepting that your numbers are valid, are you trying to say that there isn't a problem at all? Or that monthly and annual recruiting quotas are ceilings rather than floors? Frankly, given the stated importance our "noble cause," I'm rather surprised that we aren't routinely exceeding the quotas, rather than missing them or just barely making them. The fact that the actual numbers are so small for a country so large only underscores my point: If the War on Terror is so important, why isn't there more interest in military service among those vocally supporting it, and their circles of influence?

The Marine Corps focuses very much on recent high school graduates; the only reason today's 18-year olds haven't enlisted before is their age, when they were still in high school. Operation Yellow Elephant salutes everyone who has joined up and wants to see that you have plenty of company.

Do any of you really think that recruiting is going perfectly? And that our military is actually turning away qualified prospects because it doesn't have any available slots?