Vital Military Jobs Go Unfilled
The military is falling far behind in its effort
to recruit and re-enlist soldiers for some of the most vital combat positions in
Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a new government report.
Both the Army and the Marines...fell short of their goals for hiring roadside bomb defusers by about 20 percent in each of the last two years. The Army Reserve, meanwhile, failed to fill about a third of its more than 1,500 intelligence analysts jobs. And in the National Guard, there have been consistent shortages filling positions involving tanks, field artillery and intelligence.
The report found that, in all, the military, which is engaged in the most demanding wartime recruitment effort since the 1970's, had failed to fully staff 41 percent of its array of combat and noncombat specialties.
Officials with the accountability office, the independent investigative arm of Congress, found that some of the critical shortfalls had been masked by the overfilling of other positions in an effort to reach overall recruiting goals. As a result, the G.A.O. report questioned whether Congress had been given an accurate picture by the Pentagon of the military's ability to maintain the force it needs for Iraq and Afghanistan.
In other words, the Pentagon is lying to the American public, to Congress. The emphasis is added for folks who only hear what appears on Fox Snooze.
Posted: Sun - November 20, 2005 at 06:06 AM