USA Today reports that -- unlike Vietnam -- our brave soldiers continue to reenlist at high rates, partially making up for the shortfall in new recruits. Why? In part, money.
Re-enlistment bonuses range from as little as $1,000 to as much as $150,000, depending on the type of job and length of re-enlistment. The $150,000 bonuses are offered only to senior special operations commandos who agree to stay in the military for up to six more years. The average bonus is $10,000, said Col. Debbra Head, who monitors Army retention at the Pentagon.But however much money is dangled in front of them, it is remarkable and brave that they would choose to reenlist in a war that every grunt knows has been mismanged since the day Baghdad fell and which the American people believe Bush lied about to beef up support for invasion. Thanks to murderous ethnic rivalries, the people of Iraq who suffered under Hussein continue to suffer under daily suicide bombings -- the attack that astonished London is Iraq's daily bread. Our soldiers can't change how the war is executed, but to their credit they must feel a bond with their fellow soldiers and the people of that country.
Imagine what our troops could do if they were properly armed and equipped, with enough boots on the ground to secure the peace and a commander in chief who faced up to tough problems instead of ignoring them. Maybe in three and a half years....
