Now we're resorting to buying people into service!

And that's not all. I had to read this article twice to make sure I wasn't dreaming. But yes, it's true - army recruits will now get larger signing bonuses than Wall Street analysts coming out of college! Why? Because the Army has no choice. After missing their recruiting targets (again) they're taking another tactic: competitive pay. They're also dramatically raising the maximum age for new recruits from 35 to 42. 42?!? I know some 42 year olds. Not sure I want them on the front line.

article from Sign On San Diego


"After falling well short of its recruiting goals last year, the Army has set even higher monthly targets for this summer, hoping that new financial incentives will attract high school and college graduates in the face of mounting deaths in Iraq. . . A new law will allow the Army to give larger financial bonuses for enlistments and re-enlistments – doubling the maximum payment to new active duty recruits from $20,000 to $40,000, and from $10,000 to $20,000 for reservists. It also will let older recruits sign on by raising the top age from 35 to 42. And the top re-enlistment bonus for active duty soldiers would increase from $60,000 to $90,000."

Oh man. Well now we've seen it all - dumb people (see the prior post), old people, and "bribes" to fill the ranks. What's next? Uh....