Volunteers vs. Mercenaries
Dear editor:
Since July the Army has been offering prospective recruits what it calls "assignment incentive pay." That is $400 a month in extra pay for as many as 36 months if an enlistee agrees to join any of the brigades of the 1st Cavalry Division or 25th Infantry Division scheduled to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Are we trying to rebuild our "volunteer" army or are we recruiting a highly paid army of “mercenaries?” How high a price is our government willing to put on our young people to join with the almost 2,000 American service people who have already died in Iraq? Do we next offer enlistments to citizens of other nations to act as our “soldiers of fortune?” Are we really that hungry to "stay the course?"
Since July the Army has been offering prospective recruits what it calls "assignment incentive pay." That is $400 a month in extra pay for as many as 36 months if an enlistee agrees to join any of the brigades of the 1st Cavalry Division or 25th Infantry Division scheduled to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Are we trying to rebuild our "volunteer" army or are we recruiting a highly paid army of “mercenaries?” How high a price is our government willing to put on our young people to join with the almost 2,000 American service people who have already died in Iraq? Do we next offer enlistments to citizens of other nations to act as our “soldiers of fortune?” Are we really that hungry to "stay the course?"
posted by Sam Schoolsky | 8:52 AM
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