"Scott Lurndal" wrote in message
m...
"Todd Fatheree" writes:

Let's try a little logic here. If the raw numbers are available, I can't
find them. But we know that the military has a high demand for troops,
right? Otherwise, they wouldn't be calling up Guard and Reserve troops.
So, I think it's safe to assume that their goal is a reasonably high
percentage of the total deployed. So, 96% of a big number is still a big
number. Not as big as 106%, but still big. Of course, you'll argue that
the goal must have been about 50%, right? That makes perfect sense.

According to this source:

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/jun2004/stop-j04.shtml

As for the mood in the army itself, retired US Army Col. David Hackworth,
a vocal critic of the Pentagon and the White House, suggests the reality
is "exactly 180 degrees out" from what official sources are saying about
re-enlistment rates. He asserts, based on "what hundreds of soldiers have
told me during the past few weeks," that troops "are voting with their
feet"
and preparing to leave the military in large numbers.

So, your source is a disgruntled colonel who isn't even in the Army any
more?

If everyone was re-uping, the stop-loss orders wouldn't be necessary.

Maybe they just feel like they need every person that they have available.
The reason we got onto this whole business in the first place was Randy
asserting that the troops believe they are wasting their time. I asserted
that based on the re-enlistment numbers I heard that there wasn't a lot of
evidence for that. After looking for backup on the reported numbers, I
can't find any good, raw data. But let's say for the sake of argument that
the re-enlistment rate is not what we want. Based on soldiers I have heard
that have been in Iraq, they are proud of the job they're doing and believe
it is important. That said, many of them, especially Guard troops and
reservists who didn't think they would be deployed for as long as they have,
want to get back home, and I don't blame them for that. For those men and
women, I don't believe it is a reflection on their commitment to our cause
as it is a desire to get back to their civilian lives. I'm sure few of them
would rather be in Iraq than back home, but most of them understand they are
doing a very important job.

todd

scott