Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgians join military as civilian jobs dry up

[marmar]

Georgians join military as civilian jobs dry up
By MONI BASU
The Atlanta Journal-Consitution


Sunday, February 01, 2009

Jeremy Scheib stood in formation with 40 other fresh faces last Sunday at a Georgia Army National Guard recruitment ceremony, thankful to Uncle Sam for bailing him out.

Scheib, a 23-year-old specialist, previously spent 15 months in Iraq with the 1st Infantry Division. When he returned to Georgia, his wife, Angel, begged him to get out of the Army. So he hung up the uniform and settled in Hiram to raise a family, making $12 an hour as a mechanic for 18-wheelers.

But on Thanksgiving, Scheib’s world came crashing down when he was laid off from his job. The $237 he collected every month in unemployment barely made a dent in the bills. And with almost 400,000 Georgians looking for jobs, Scheib was out of luck.

With four mouths to feed at home, he returned to the one institution he knows readily hires and rarely fires: the military.

He purposely joined the 48th Infantry Brigade, which is preparing for a tour of Afghanistan. He needed the extra $225 a month in hostile fire pay.

“The wife doesn’t like it,” he shrugged. “But it’s a steady paycheck. It’s health care.” ...............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2009/02/01/recruit_0201_2DOT.html

[glowing]

1. 23 yrs young with 4 children.. man, seriously, a condom costs less.

[CatWoman]

2. Georgia has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country

and a great majority of her citizens still stubbornly vote all things Republican.

Disgusted and ignorant to the core.

[Aviation Pro]

3. Welcome to the Two Shoes Army.....

....who needs a draft when you can force people to make a decision based on the economy?

With that said, I know SP4 Scheib will do a tremendous job for our nation.

[mod mom]

4. that was the neocon plan all along.