Dying for Dollars, Part II

"Be... as dead as you can be..."

For a General, a Tough Mission: Building the Army - New York Times

FORT KNOX, Ky., Feb. 1 — From his office in the command center here, where dozens of recruiters answer questions about military life via e-mail and chat rooms, Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick is trying to retool the Army's strategy for fighting a war within a war: persuading young people and their families that the military is a good choice, even when combat duty is almost certain.

The general has plans to attract teenagers with video games, Web sites, cellphone text messages and helicopter simulators in the back of 18-wheelers [oughta be a law...]. He wants to win over parents through commercials on the Food Network, visits to rodeos and Nascar races, and recruiters who have recently returned from Iraq and Afghanistan and can address concerns about war [Hey, I didn't die! Maybe you won't either!].

And if that fails, General Bostick also has cash: $40,000 in bonuses [if you can't beat 'em, bribe 'em] for some recruits who take dangerous jobs; $1,000 for soldiers who persuade friends to sign up.

Bushco lied about the war and just keeps on lying. Why in the world would anyone want to enlist for a lie? That's the Army's fundamental recruitment problem. That and they keep getting troops blown up due to lack of men and materiel.

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