Canadian and United states recruitment problems

Has anyone heard that the US and canada are having recruitment problems ? What are your opinions on why these militaries are having such problems recruiting ?

 

US is easy - nobody wants to go to Iraq.
Well, that is the obvious & populist answer.

I had heard that the US Armed Forces have been slowly getting less & less applicants over the last 10 or so years anyway.
Is it a symptom of the fact that people in a comfortable society have no wish to have a job where they will get shot?
I say this as a guess. IIRC British army recruitment is also going down, but that is fine because our army is too!

 

I see it as a good thing. Weed out those who only want to join for the benefits and have no inclination to fight.
More importantly the reenlistment rates of soldiers and Marines, most of whom have served at least one tour in Iraq is holding steady or actually increasing. Veteran troops are staying in the military in good numbers.

ps..no idea about Canada. I know little about their military however they aren't fighting in Iraq so one can't blame it on that.

 

you have to remember that a lot of people join the US services to get a college grant. Serve for a few years and they pay for your degree.

It's these people who veiw the army as a means to an end that are reducing

FNG

 

It was on the news today that for the first time in 4 months, the US Army actually exceeded its recruiting goal. Not by much, but they didn't fall short!

My neighbor's son was discharged from the USMC almost 18 months ago. He just signed back up for a year. Same rank, same time in service, etc. They're just waiting to see when he's going to Iraq.

 

I think they'll reach the quota next month too , but it will start to fall short again soon , I think some people were compelled to join after the Bush speech recently , I think a lingering problem is that after your discharged you can be called up again within a certain amount of years (im not sure how the system goes) i think a lot of people want to join but just for one tour they don't want to be called up after their tour is done , their is also reports of benefits being cut , and etc.

 

I have a few opinions. I'll try not to offend anybody.
Yes, the US has been declining in recuitment for many years. That was the case when I joined the Army in 1990.

1) The military is run by the Federal government. As such, it's a total screw up from top to bottom as is any governmental agency. Most folks don't have patience for that.
2) A lot of today's young folks are soft. They don't want to do anything outside or that requires work. It's even getting hard to hire help on jobs that are outside or were you will have to sweat.
3) Kids are raised by soccer moms who teach them to be sissies.
4) Some men don't want to serve with women.
5) Military life requires that you sometimes make some personal sacrifices for the greater good. Many in today's society have the "me first" attitude.

 

I retired from the USMC. Looking at that list you provided, the only people that are going to be offended are the ones it applies to! Ergo, feck 'em! :bang:

If they don't like it, tough!

 

Oorah, Tom!

 

Semper Fi Tom
...one tour USMC here 1970-74.

 

SSGT, (ret)
30 Nov 99

Never did a combat tour, though I got my "I wuz dere" ribbons from Persian Excursion I.

 

For the past 15 years or so the united states military has had problems recruiting people , I have an idea ! and bear with me here .. What if the United states started a foreign legion of it's own ! their man power could increase as much as 10,000 personnel ! (im not sure if the american armed forces allows non-US citizens in or not) But if you complete a tour you get an american passport and citizenship automatically,and many other benefits such as health insurance and so on , I dunno if the US has done that or not , im just thinking aloud.....

 

Isn't there a system in the US that allows foreigners to get into the army and grants them US citizenship later.
I tough I heard something about mexicans joining US army....but I maybe wrong.

 

You can join but after about 4 years must take US citizenship or leave.

Certain nationalities need not apply.

 

GP wrote:

[ The rules for re-enlistment of permanent residents vary from military branch to military branch. The Air Force allows non-citizens to enlist for one term only; they must become citizens to re-enlist. The Army allows non-citizens to re-enlist and serve for a total of eight years. The Marine Corps and the Navy permit non-citizens to re-enlist indefinitely. However, non-citizens are limited to military occupations that do not require security clearance because of the difficulty of conducting background checks on them.

By enlisting in the armed forces, non-citizens can speed up the citizenship process. It usually takes five years for a permanent resident to become a citizen, but military personnel can become naturalized in only three years, or even less if they serve during wartime.

There are no nationalites barred from joining the US military. Applicants who have been residents of countries considered hostile to the interests of the United States require a waiver.
Of the ~ 30,000 foreigners serving in the US military more than 100 countries are represented. As one might expect quite a few of them (about a third) are Hispanic.

 

When I was in Uni in the fine city of Norwich, the local papers made rather a splash of the fact the top recruit that year in the US Marine Corps was a girl from Norfolk (the English county, obviously ).

 

Really, besides from Bush being a moron, like he always is, has, and ever shall be, Americans are just to fat to join the service and those who arnt really fat dont want to go and get killed, as they have it almost perfect here.