Quote:
Originally posted by taxwonk
Kerry has said he plans to raise pay and standards of living in general, both for troops and for their families at home, which I would imagine means increasing not just pay, but also improving housing and providing for additional family support.
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He's also talking about respecting service rotations and eliminating the "back door draft". One thing that apparently is killing recruiting is the fact that no one knows the scope of their commitment.
There are a lot of people who are willing to give a certain period of time, even with the risk to life, but who just can't envision an unlimited commitment. As soon as people start getting let out of the reserves, you'll likely see a huge outflow because of this policy and this war - people willing to be called up for a year are ending up overseas with their life on hold for a year and a half or longer.
I have one relative who did a 1 year stint during Iraq I and is now commanding an outfit in Afghanistan, and being held over. His wife is very clear about the fact that it's time to end this reserve stuff, he's not going to miss the last few years he has with the kids before they leave home.
Frankly, it's going to be an uphill battle to undo the damage that has been done to the armed forces, and a tall order for Kerry as well.
