The Army to offer more lucrative bonuses

Yahoo News has reported The Army is offering incentives of up to $45,000 (tax-free) for those that choose to Be A Man! Enlist!

It's all part of an Army effort to fill its ranks even as the percentage of young people who say they plan to join the military has hit a historic low — 16 percent by the Pentagon's own surveying — in the fifth year of the Iraq war.

As part of a push to make its 2007 goals, the Army is boosting the size of its 8,000-member recruiting force with 1,000 to 2,000 assistants — including some former recruiters.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants to increase the size of the active-duty Army by 65,000 to a total of 547,000 within five years. In part, that's to ease the wartime strain on the Army, which is the largest branch of the military.

"Recruiting next year and beyond will remain challenging and will ... require additional innovative approaches," said Lt. Col. Michael Rochelle, the Pentagon's deputy chief of staff for personnel. He asked lawmakers last week on Capitol Hill for money to pay for the new program.

We, at OYE, feel Our Armed Forces have been abandoned by Our Country's leaders. The Army is clearly asking for help in attracting new recruits, but no one in the White House, The Senate, or the House of Representatives has asked their constituents to Step Forward to help those in uniform. It's well past the time for the elected officials to stop anguishing over turning off potential voters and to do the right thing for those that serve and ask the civilians that voted them in office to truly Support Our Troops by enlisting.