thedrifter
06-30-05, 07:42 PM
June 30, 2005
Don’t discourage children from joining service, Pace urges
By Pauline Jelinek
Associated Press
America’s parents should not stand in the way of sons and daughters who want to join the military, but should let them follow their patriotic instincts, the nation’s No. 2 general said Wednesday.
“Those who are looking to serve this country should be encouraged to do so,” said Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
A Marine whose son also is in the Marine Corps, Pace said the key is “to encourage our young people ... to come forward to help defend this nation ... and to encourage the families of those young folks to let them follow their instincts.”
Coming amid Pentagon recruiting problems, his comments followed a direct appeal just hours earlier by President Bush for more people to enlist in the armed forces.
The Pentagon has been suffering manpower strains because of the simultaneous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Army has been particularly hurt by the slowly mounting U.S. casualties — more than 1,700 in Iraq alone — a toll that may be discouraging young people from getting involved in land combat.
All four of the main military services are having trouble attracting recruits to their reserve forces. Pentagon officials said Wednesday that the Army expected to meet its recruiting goal for June, following four straight months of missing its targets despite adding a recruiting bonus and other incentives.
“This is not about money, it’s about message,” Pace told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on his nomination to be chairman of the joint chiefs. “It’s about our young folks in this country understanding that we truly are at war with an enemy that seeks to eliminate the way we live.”
Polls by the Pentagon and others show that while military-age people may be inclined to enlist, it is often their parents who consider it a bad idea.
In an Associated Press poll this month more than half of those surveyed said they would discourage a son from enlisting in the military, while two-thirds said they would discourage a daughter from joining.
In Tuesday’s televised speech to the nation about Iraq, Bush spoke directly to potential recruits.
“To those watching tonight who are considering a military career, there is no higher calling than service in our armed forces,” he said. “We live in freedom because every generation has produced patriots willing to serve a cause greater than themselves.”
Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey said earlier this year that the service would work to draw more recruits by trying an appeal to patriotic parents who might encourage their children to enlist.
Harvey said he was encouraging members of Congress as well as senior Army leaders and Army boosters to spend time in local communities touting the benefits of military service.
Pace said the younger generation needs to be encouraged by society’s leaders.
“I believe there is sufficient love of country, desire to serve, that if encouraged properly by the leadership — and if sent to do missions that are understood to be good and supported — that we’ll continue to fill the ranks of our services,” he said.
Pace noted that among those already serving, re-enlistment rates are high.
“Those who are in uniform serving this country get it. They understand what they’re doing, they understand the value,” Pace said.
Ellie
Don’t discourage children from joining service, Pace urges
By Pauline Jelinek
Associated Press
America’s parents should not stand in the way of sons and daughters who want to join the military, but should let them follow their patriotic instincts, the nation’s No. 2 general said Wednesday.
“Those who are looking to serve this country should be encouraged to do so,” said Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
A Marine whose son also is in the Marine Corps, Pace said the key is “to encourage our young people ... to come forward to help defend this nation ... and to encourage the families of those young folks to let them follow their instincts.”
Coming amid Pentagon recruiting problems, his comments followed a direct appeal just hours earlier by President Bush for more people to enlist in the armed forces.
The Pentagon has been suffering manpower strains because of the simultaneous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Army has been particularly hurt by the slowly mounting U.S. casualties — more than 1,700 in Iraq alone — a toll that may be discouraging young people from getting involved in land combat.
All four of the main military services are having trouble attracting recruits to their reserve forces. Pentagon officials said Wednesday that the Army expected to meet its recruiting goal for June, following four straight months of missing its targets despite adding a recruiting bonus and other incentives.
“This is not about money, it’s about message,” Pace told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on his nomination to be chairman of the joint chiefs. “It’s about our young folks in this country understanding that we truly are at war with an enemy that seeks to eliminate the way we live.”
Polls by the Pentagon and others show that while military-age people may be inclined to enlist, it is often their parents who consider it a bad idea.
In an Associated Press poll this month more than half of those surveyed said they would discourage a son from enlisting in the military, while two-thirds said they would discourage a daughter from joining.
In Tuesday’s televised speech to the nation about Iraq, Bush spoke directly to potential recruits.
“To those watching tonight who are considering a military career, there is no higher calling than service in our armed forces,” he said. “We live in freedom because every generation has produced patriots willing to serve a cause greater than themselves.”
Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey said earlier this year that the service would work to draw more recruits by trying an appeal to patriotic parents who might encourage their children to enlist.
Harvey said he was encouraging members of Congress as well as senior Army leaders and Army boosters to spend time in local communities touting the benefits of military service.
Pace said the younger generation needs to be encouraged by society’s leaders.
“I believe there is sufficient love of country, desire to serve, that if encouraged properly by the leadership — and if sent to do missions that are understood to be good and supported — that we’ll continue to fill the ranks of our services,” he said.
Pace noted that among those already serving, re-enlistment rates are high.
“Those who are in uniform serving this country get it. They understand what they’re doing, they understand the value,” Pace said.
Ellie