Congratulations to the Army Recruitment Command, which exceeded its August 2007 enlistment goal, reportedly by just over one-half of 1%. Don’t laugh – it’s a significant figure, although it was expensive.

Army data obtained by The Washington Post show that the Army recruited 10,128 new troops in August, 528 more than the monthly goal of 9,600. Last month's recruiting total -- aided by a new $20,000 "quick ship" bonus that spurs people to leave for basic training within 30 days -- was the largest monthly total this fiscal year. The Army will now need to recruit about 8,000 people this month to meet its goal for the year.

Army officials declined to discuss the August numbers, pending an official Defense Department announcement that normally comes on the 10th of the month. Maj. Gen. Thomas Bostick, head of the U.S. Army Recruiting Command, told reporters at the Pentagon yesterday that he could not reveal the August total, saying only: "We had a very good month of August."

Since the goal was surpassed, the glory of the public announcement belongs to a political appointee at DoD. Perhaps MG Bostick will get to make monthly total announcements some other month if recruiting falls off.

It was good for the Army in part, Bostick said, because of the success of the quick-ship bonus, which has been available to almost all new recruits since July 25 and may have encouraged people who were "on the fence" about joining the Army to enlist in recent weeks. He said it is possible that the Army will extend the bonus.

According to Army recruiting data for late July and early August, the quick-ship bonus was extremely popular, with more than 90 percent of new recruits accepting the money in exchange for leaving their homes almost immediately. Bostick said that about 400 recruits who had been scheduled to leave in September opted instead to leave last month to pocket the bonus.

The ”Quick Ship” bonus pays $5,000 to any first term enlistee who agrees to go within less than 30 days of signing the contract. The Army has been putting a lot of money into obtaining fresh soldiers because the need is constant, and they are looking ahead to the expected expansion which will be needed since it appears both political parties understand we will need to keep a lot of troops fighting on the ground in Iraq the Middle East for the next couple of decades.

It seems fewer people are fired up by the desire to control all the oil.

Particularly troubling to the Army is the declining perceptions of the "influencers" -- such as parents, coaches and teachers -- who are increasingly discouraging young people from joining the military as a career. Bostick said the willingness of mothers to send their children to the Army has dropped from 40 percent in March 2004 to 25 percent now, according to Army data, while the willingness of fathers has dropped from 50 percent to 33 percent over the same period. … Also worrisome for the Army is the dropping desire of young adults to serve in the military. Bostick said that 20 years ago, approximately 25 percent of people ages 17 to 24 showed a desire to serve in the military, a figure that has dropped to 15.7 percent today.

The command levels of the military, especially the Army, seem to have been more and more subsumed into the Republican Party, eagerly parroting the message day in and day out. Sooner or later they will come to realize that the better way is to compel service. And there is so much prime, quality material available who support the Middle East conquest(s).