Vital Military Jobs Go Unfilled, Study Says
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. The report, completed by the Government Accountability Office, shows that the Army, National Guard and Marines signed up as few as a third of the Special Forces soldiers, intelligence specialists and translators that they had aimed for over the last year. Both the Army and the Marines, for instance, 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.It still amazes me that 62 million people voted for Bush but we cannot find enough brave men out of that 62 million to serve this country and fight the war in Iraq. I think that says an awful lot about Republicans but it's certainly nothing I didn't already know. (I'm not surprised they're having problems hiring 'roadside bomb defusers', are you?)
