Army Now Offering Recruits up to $40,000 to Join the Infantry

[Ray,IN]

And all I got when I was drafted was a free haircut 😒: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/07/03/army-now-offering-recruits-40000-join-infantry.html?ESRC=eb_190704.nl

[Kirk W]

You shoulc see what some of the re-enlistment bonuses look like.....   

[remoandiris]

Typically this means recruiting is a problem.  Next will be lowered standards to fill the billets.  Not good.  

[pjstough]

Where is the line between a volunteer and a mercenary?

[Lou Schneider]

Never mind ...

Edited July 7, 2019 by Lou Schneider

[whj469]

When you have a volunteer military you have to do what you must to fill the ranks. They say when the economy is doing well it gets harder to recruit?

[pjstough]

Just now, whj469 said:

When you have a volunteer military you have to do what you must to fill the ranks. They say when the economy is doing well it gets harder to recruit?

To me, that shows a lot of people are joining the military, not out of a sense of duty, but that the military is the best "job" they could get, and if that is true, they are more mercenary than patriot.

[pjstough]

22 hours ago, Ray,IN said:

And all I got when I was drafted was a free haircut 😒: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/07/03/army-now-offering-recruits-40000-join-infantry.html?ESRC=eb_190704.nl

A link from the same page.  https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/07/06/no-grunts-under-26-250k-bonuses-dods-most-radical-ideas-transform-infantry.html

[remoandiris]

1 hour ago, pjstough said:

To me, that shows a lot of people are joining the military, not out of a sense of duty, but that the military is the best "job" they could get, and if that is true, they are more mercenary than patriot.

And your answer to fill the vacancies is what?

[pjstough]

Just now, remoandiris said:

And your answer to fill the vacancies is what?

I dont necessarily object to the $40,000 bonus, but the bonus, along with reduced ability to recruit new members into the military during good economic times, again, just shows that it has more to do with money than patriotism.  About the time I was getting out of the Army, they were offering bonuses up to $10,000 in an attempt to retain infantry soldiers.  Adjust that amount for inflation and you will probably come up with about $40,000 in today's money.

[chirakawa]

9 hours ago, pjstough said:

To me, that shows a lot of people are joining the military, not out of a sense of duty, but that the military is the best "job" they could get, and if that is true, they are more mercenary than patriot.

And, did you work your entire career for the Postal Service out of a sense of patriotism..............or to feed your family?  No reason why someone can't be both a patriot and want to make a living at the same time.

[Kirk W]

11 hours ago, pjstough said:

To me, that shows a lot of people are joining the military, not out of a sense of duty, but that the military is the best "job" they could get, and if that is true, they are more mercenary than patriot.

There is no question but that most people do consider payscale when choosing a career, no matter what employer you choose to work for. A factor in most people staying in the work they have chosen is usually the degree of satisfaction that they get from the work and when they see other positions that they qualify for, many will leave unless the present job gives similar econThereomic security. There are always some who stay in the military or any other job for the benefits or because they fear risking the security of their present position. That is probably somewhat more true for governmental positions than civilian, but clearly can happen with any job one is in. 

While I would agree that few join the military for patriotic reasons, it is a fact that military life does tend to instill a sense of patriotism and service in those who serve and probably more so the longer that person stays in the military, since it is part of the culture. It is also true that both veterans and retired military members can be more selfinterested than patriotic at times, but that is no less true for any other citizen. While I very much appreciate the respect and privilages that are given me because I am a veteran, I do not believe that I am owed anything more than that which was part of my enlistment (or employement) contract. 

[pjstough]

1 hour ago, chirakawa said:

And, did you work your entire career for the Postal Service out of a sense of patriotism..............or to feed your family?  No reason why someone can't be both a patriot and want to make a living at the same time.

Working for the Government in a civilian capacity is not comparable to being in the infantry in the military.

[FL-JOE]

I think it is great that they have to offer that kind of a bonus for an initial 6 year commitment to the infantry.  I can remember being an E-5 and newly back in the States and wondering how my money would stretch when I first got married.  The military has always been extremely low pay with small incentives for re-enlistments.  

When I was trying to decide to stay in or get out in 1973 the Army offered me $6,000 if I would re-enlist for six years plus an almost guaranteed promo to E-6.  If you calculate $6,000 in 1973 (CPI inflation calculator) it would be like getting almost $34,000 in today's dollars.  Not bad for a transportation MOS.  

I would be willing to bet these types of bonuses are not rare in the military.  I don't think we can pay our boys/girls in green enough to defend this country.

[whj469]

The military has been a career path for many years. It is for those who couldn't get into college or pay for college. It is a way to go to college later. When they did away with the draft how where they to get people to join? Lots of women join now. Those who remember the draft during the Vietnam war know that divided the country.

[chirakawa]

23 minutes ago, pjstough said:

Working for the Government in a civilian capacity is not comparable to being in the infantry in the military.

I agree.  But in both cases people have to make a living.

I just happen to think that your suggestion that someone who would accept a bonus to enlist in the military is somehow less patriotic is incorrect and insulting.

I was drafted into the Army.  There's no way I would have joined at that point in my life, I had other things to do.  However, I worked just as hard, was just as dedicated, was just as Patriotic, and suffered just as many hardships and dangers as the guy next to me who enlisted.

I've heard dozens of reasons for people joining the military over the years.  I had a co-worker who joined the Marines in 1967 to avoid going to jail.  He served two tours in Vietnam and was pretty screwed up over the experience.  I wouldn't suggest anyone telling him to his face he wasn't a patriot.  Lot's of folks have told me they joined to see the world.  That's a recurring theme from Navy vets I've talked to.  My brother joined so that he could go to college on the GI Bill.  I certainly never would have questioned his patriotism.

There are lot's of benefits of joining the military, financial and otherwise.  I just don't think that someone is less patriotic because they chose to take advantage of one of those incentives.

[pjstough]

Just now, whj469 said:

The military has been a career path for many years. It is for those who couldn't get into college or pay for college. It is a way to go to college later. When they did away with the draft how where they to get people to join? Lots of women join now. Those who remember the draft during the Vietnam war know that divided the country.

Again, you are saying they are doing it for the money, and not out of some patriotic duty.  So when we see all these parades and such spotlighting the military, we need to keep in mind that most who are in the military are do so for the money and not just being patriotic.

Also, I believe it was the war itself, and not the draft that divided the country.  Had we not had a draft, the war in Viet-Nam would have ended years sooner for lack of infantry soldiers.

[whj469]

Nor are they more patriotic because they joined. They did so as a career path.

[remoandiris]

38 minutes ago, whj469 said:

The military has been a career path for many years. It is for those who couldn't get into college or pay for college. It is a way to go to college later. When they did away with the draft how where they to get people to join? Lots of women join now. Those who remember the draft during the Vietnam war know that divided the country.

Oh really???  Hmmm, when I joined, I had already been accepted to 3 colleges.  I had also just spent 12 yrs in school (like everyone else in my school) and didn't want to do another 4, but it certainly had nothing to do with not being accepted into or not being able to pay, for college.

And yes, "Lots of women join now".  Since women are slightly more than half the US population it makes sense women join, doesn't it?   

[Kirk W]

5 hours ago, pjstough said:

So when we see all these parades and such spotlighting the military, we need to keep in mind that most who are in the military are do so for the money and not just being patriotic.

That doesn't change the risk that those on active duty are taking. It is much like choosing to be a policeman, firefighter, or one of numerous other jobs with a high level of risk. Are you telling us that because those folks do their job for the money more than a sense of patriotic duty that we should not honor them? 

[FL-JOE]

5 hours ago, Kirk W said:

That doesn't change the risk that those on active duty are taking. It is much like choosing to be a policeman, firefighter, or one of numerous other jobs with a high level of risk. Are you telling us that because those folks do their job for the money more than a sense of patriotic duty that we should not honor them? 

Very well said Kirk.

[Ray,IN]

Since starting this thread I have looked at the subject closer.

The article says up to $40,000, now take into consideration the 2019 military pay scale  and you see this is actually not a windfall. Say a young man enlists under this program, at the end of 6 years his monthly pay is $3,001.14 IF he makes E-5, plus the total amount of enlistment pay he is granted. This is-in effect the amount of money he will receive for swearing an oath to give his life in defense of the U.S.A.

" I am a veteran, my oath of enlistment has no expiration date"

Edited July 8, 2019 by Ray,IN

[FL-JOE]

Exactly.  The full article breaks down the $40,000.  If you enlist for 3 or 4 you get a little less than $40,000.

[Ray,IN]

To further muddy this issue, this proposal was conceived  while retired General Jim Mattis was Secretary of Defense: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/07/06/no-grunts-under-26-250k-bonuses-dods-most-radical-ideas-transform-infantry.html?ESRC=eb_190708.nl

 

Edited July 8, 2019 by Ray,IN

[pjstough]

18 hours ago, Kirk W said:

That doesn't change the risk that those on active duty are taking. It is much like choosing to be a policeman, firefighter, or one of numerous other jobs with a high level of risk. Are you telling us that because those folks do their job for the money more than a sense of patriotic duty that we should not honor them? 

So if we are going to honor people for doing risky jobs, shouldnt we be honoring loggers, commercial fishermen, and farm laborers?  Those jobs are riskier than policemen or firemen.