WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday he's inclined to approve an Army proposal to spend nearly $3 billion extra over the next four years to accelerate an expansion of its force. Army Secretary Pete Geren said speeding up the growth of the force, stretched thin by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, would mean recruiting faster and increasing the number of soldiers who re-enlist.
... the time for expanding our FIGHTING military was on Sept. 12th, 2001 - this is not hindsite, I said it at the time - I'm beginning to wonder if brains suddenly stop functioning as you cross the D.C. line. - Tiger
The defense secretary cautioned that he would not accept any accelerated expansion of the Army that would lead the Army to lower its recruiting standards, including levels of education required.
"I'm inclined to approve it," Gates said. "My questions have focused principally on whether they can do it, in terms of recruitment and whether they can do so without lowering standards and, in fact, to begin to move back toward the high standards of not too many months ago."
Gates mentioned, as an example, that the percentage of Army recruits with a high school diploma has dropped to about 76 percent, compared with over 90 percent in recent years. "We'd like to see that get back up," he said.
... this "diploma" average can only mean that our lower class is fighting the war - can anyone say DRAFT! Or, does the middle/upper class American have any fight left in them? A couple of years ago I worked in an Engineering office of 200 people - only two of us "oldies" were Vets - when I asked about this, their pat answer was; ""better them than me"! These people are what people like me call, "pieces of shit!" - Tiger
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