Military pressure to recruit is strong

[douglas9]

Source: Houston Chronicle

Passing out gimme caps, pounding sweltering Wal-Mart parking lots, even stuffing business cards into the pockets of new jeans still on the racks at stores, there is no doubt military recruiters get creative to carry out one of the national defense's most challenging missions: finding new enlistees.

"You had to do what you had to do," recalled Paul Johnson, who said that for three years he was a Navy recruiter in Alvin. "Did it result in stuff? I got a couple of calls."

As the Army announced Wednesday that it began the recruiting year Oct. 1 with a record low number of pledges, the Marine Corps acknowledged it punished nine Houston-area recruiters who used fraudulent stand-ins to take a military entrance exam for potential recruits who might not otherwise make the grade.

Of the 510,000 people who took the crucial test — the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude and Battery — 265,000 reported for basic training to enter the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or Coast Guard during the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, according to the federal government.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5266963.html

[bookkillrr]

1. How long will it take before...

I could be wrong, but just about anybody can walk into a recruiters office, and sign up. The basics are , speak english, G.E.D. or High School grad, both eyes working, etc. What they don't ask for is if you are a U.S. Citizen. Yup. Lot's of men from Mexico are joining up with the false hopes that after they complete their 3 or 4 year obligation, they will become a U.S. Citizen. Oh what a trip. Kind of weird in the first place that a non U.S. citizen can make it through the sign up process. Kind of sad that for what ever reason, the young man from Mexico or South America has been tricked into believing he will become a U.S. Citizen once he has finished his 4 years. Oh and what happens to him if he is wounded, and sent back?
Just where is he sent back to ? Will he get any medical help 10 years down the road? Why 10 years down the road? Well, at a lot of freeway exits in L.A. you can just about always find a U.S. VET from Viet Nam holding out a cup looking for a quarter. "We are number 1" Unless you are a vet.
Why are these guys begging for quarters? Can't we be better than that ? wrong rant. Holy crap, there aren't enough freeway off ramps to handle the next class of grads from "Iraq class of 05, 06, 07, 08, possibly 09 ? So someone fill me in. What is to stop recruiting Young men in Mexico?
And.. Am I wrong or do we have non U.S. citizens currently in our armed forces. Do they believe they will gain citizenship for going to Iraq?
Something is very wrong here. Besides the vets on the freeway off ramps.