Tag: Recruitment

Does The Army Have a Gang Problem?

Closing Thought–09Sep20

I have written in the past about the waivers that gang members can get so they can serve in the US Army…..how has that worked out in the last decade or so?

The most recent report from the Army on street and outlaw motorcycle gang activity in the ranks shows both trending upward, while incidents of domestic extremism remain roughly constant.

An internal report, obtained by Military.com through a Freedom of Information Act request, shows that gang members were tied to dozens of Army felony law enforcement reports and more than 100 criminal investigations in fiscal 2018, the latest year for which data is available. 

While these reports and investigations make up less than 1% of all Army law enforcement incidents, the new report shows that the little-discussed problem of military gang activity continues to be a headache for base commanders and other service leaders.

The Gang and Domestic Extremist Activity Threat Assessment from Army Criminal Investigation Command, or CID, is a regular report compiled at the behest of Congress. 

https://taskandpurpose.com/news/army-gang-violence-on-the-rise

Is the Army so desperate for recruits that it will take violent gang members to fill the quotas set for signing up new bodies for our wars?

This is a problem of their own making.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Closing Thought–29Nov18

I have found that too many Americans could care less about our service people one reason is that it is a volunteer military….but a new report shows that the military is falling behind their recruitment goals….

The Department of Defense released recruiting and retention statistics for the 2018 fiscal year that show the the Army having significant shortfalls in recruiting for it’s active, reserve and National Guard components, while the Navy, Air Force and Marines met most of their goals.

The active Army recruited 69,972 soldiers out of a planned 76,500 in fiscal 2018, or 91 percent of it’s goal. The Army Reserve and National Guard numbers were much more short of goals, with only 73 percent and 78 percent of their goals met respectively, leaving a total shortfall of planned recruiting for the service at over 25,500 personnel.

https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2018/11/15/Department-of-Defense-reports-mixed-results-for-2018-recruiting/8921542312407/

If this trend continues will the M-IC demand that the draft be re-instituted?  And believe me it will take the M-IC who calls most shot with our military.

If so then I can foresee the rebirth of an antiwar movement…..something we need…..

Closing Thought–22Oct18

I have always been an opponent of the military in our schools…..I feel that the students should be focused on their studies and not on whether they would make a good Marine in high school……if one chooses to be a soldier then apply to a military school like Our Dear Leader did in his youth (of course that was as close as he got to being a real soldier)….

The Army is failing to attract those young ones and is changing up its recruiting style…..

Recruiters armed with new marketing campaigns and technology will target cities where the Army has struggled to engage potential soldiers as part of a revamped strategy to fill the ranks.

The service is taking a holistic approach to updating its recruiting and marketing enterprises, which have gone years without proper review, Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, chief of Training and Doctrine Command, said Tuesday. The lack of assessment has left current recruiters poorly outfitted to engage their targets — about 30 percent of men and women ages 17 to 24 who qualify to join the military.

https://www.stripes.com/army-targets-young-americans-in-new-ways-for-recruiting-1.551040

To my young readers….DO NOT believe the hype!  The Army cannot guarantee you a spot of your choice because that is determined by a battery of tests that are given AFTER you sign on the dotted line.

Please think carefully before signing……keep in mind that this country is in wars all over the planet….your chances of deployment to a war zone is very good.

Closing Thought–17Nov17

They are changing the requirements to get into the Army….it looks like mental illness is not a deterrent of military service anymore……

– People with a history of “self-mutilation,” bipolar disorder, depression and drug and alcohol abuse can now seek waivers to join the Army under an unannounced policy enacted in August, according to documents obtained by USA TODAY.

The decision to open Army recruiting to those with mental health conditions comes as the service faces the challenging goal of recruiting 80,000 new soldiers through September 2018. To meet last year’s goal of 69,000, the Army accepted more recruits who fared poorly on aptitude tests, increased the number of waivers granted for marijuana use and offered hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/11/12/army-lifts-ban-recruits-history-self-mutilation-other-mental-health-issues/853131001/

I question the logic that goes into this decision.  Is the Army hurting so bad that it has to lower its standards to enter?  Is this wise?  What about when the person leaves the Army and the problems that will have to be addressed once a civilian?

This is NOT the best idea they have come up with to increase the amount of people eligible to serve in the Army.

Anyone have a thought on this decision by the Army?

What Is ISIS’ Problem?

Today the fight against ISIS is not that newsworthy….that is unless some jackass wants to pop in and spout some racist crap then bow out……regardless what the two clowns are doing that want to be president…the battles still rage (not right now there is ceasefire in place that is holding at least for now)….but the dying will return.

These days in the news it is all about the massive ass kicking that the allies and even Syria and its allies are inflicting on ISIS and its minions.  Well not so much…but it should be.

What could explain all this?

First, all the damage inflicted on ISIS could they be running out of fighters?

As the pressure on the Islamic State (ISIS) mounts against the backdrop of coalition attacks and a Kurdish offensive in Syria’s Raqqa region, militant recruitment has become a pressing matter for the radical organization, which has lost many fighters in clashes around Iraq and Syria.

………

While these strategies succeeded initially, they appear more difficult to maintain in the wake of the continuous coalition, Kurdish and Shia militia attacks on ISIS. The counteroffensives have killed many militants and disrupted the transfer of goods between regions under the organization’s control. Naji’s governance tool appears to be faltering as residents of ISIS-controlled areas increasingly complain of rising food and fuel prices and declining services. The price of staples such as bread has also risen significantly and basic products have become scarce.

Source: ISIS Is Running Short of Recruits  (Newsweek–not a source that I normally use for accurate info on terrorism…but this one made some good points)…….

Women in ISIS are mostly for the male fighters to wed or make concubines, etc….but lately there has been an uptick in women carrying out terror attacks….

Whether out of desperation or by design, the so-called Islamic State has turned to women and children to try to carry out a new wave of attacks in France, and possibly elsewhere.

The first disturbing hint of the conspiracy came Sunday a week ago, when a car was found abandoned early in the morning near Notre Dame Cathedral, a prime tourist destination at the historical and religious heart of Paris. In the trunk were five large canisters of cooking gas, and three bottles of diesel fuel.

Source: Now ISIS Is Turning Women Into Cannon Fodder in France – The Daily Beast

Is ISIS turning to women now that their losses of male fighters and lack of recruits because of the War on Terror?

Another aspect to ISIS losing the ideological war……Wahhabism….that ultra-conservative brand of Islam that originated in Saudi Arabia is quickly losing its luster with people of the Middle East…

An Islamic conference was held Aug. 25-27 in Chechnya’s capital, Grozny, and senior Sunni scholars from various Sunni schools attended. The meeting was sponsored by Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov. The conference aimed at introducing “Sunni identity” and determining its adherents.

The closing statement limited the Sunni community to “Ash’aris, Maturidis by belief, followers of the four jurisprudential schools of Sunnism (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i and Hanbali) and followers of pure Sufism in terms of ethics and chastity. Any other sects are not included in the Sunni community.” This clearly indicates that, in the participants’ view, Wahhabism is not considered part of Sunni Islam, but rather an emerging innovation (Bid’ah) in Islam.

That is not an item that will make it into the nightly news but it should….for this one item is of great importance when dealing with the subject of Islam….
Finally I wrote a post awhile back that asked an important question…..”Is Terrorism On The Decline”?
I would say yes….for like in the 1970’s it served its purpose and now it is on the decline…..but decline does not mean defeated….there is still a ways to go.

Why Is My Kindergartner Being Groomed for the Military at School?

I am not a big fan of the military advertising….and I do not like the idea of any recruitment in schools other than printed stuff left for anyone to take…….

I saw the title of this piece and felt I needed to read it…….and after I read it I thought it asks some pretty good questions and made some good points…

In the US, young children are primed for military recruitment before they’re old enough to ask questions. How can we push back?

Source: Why Is My Kindergartner Being Groomed for the Military at School?

There are just some places that military recruitment should be banned…..kids already get enough pro-war crap in their vid games they really do not need it in school……

Is this indoctrination?

Just a thought.

ISIS Recruitment: Uncle Jihadi Wants You!

First I would like to rant just a bit……I cannot believe the lack of attention the American people are showing for the possibility of American troops returning to fight in Iraq (for the 3rd time)…..they are showing more concern for the future of a game……the NFL to be more specific…….they are concerned about its reputation over domestic abuse……..they are showing classic signs of denial over the armed conflict thing….ignore it maybe it will go away……..this, to me, is truly sad….sorry to me a person’s life is worth more than some game that the world would not miss if it disappeared.  It is just sad and a bit pathetic.

We have heard all the recruitment stories for ISIS….especially those from the UK, who may be doing all the beheading for the organization……everyone keeps saying that they have a cracker jack recruitment program…….mostly thanx to social media…….crazies are flocking to Syria and Iraq to join and be part of something big…….they have their disgusting tentacles in all aspects of society looking for their new breed of killers……but there is one group that surprised me at least somewhat……

America may now be at war with ISIS, but a handful of Americans are joining up with the Islamic extremist group—and not all of them are men. US law enforcement is looking into a recent spate of women allegedly seeking to join the jihad, Reuters reports. In the past six weeks, three families in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area have reported missing female family members they suspect may be enlisting, one local Muslim community leader says. On Aug. 25, another 19-year-old from the area ran away from home, hopped a flight to Turkey, and joined ISIS in Syria.

“The nature of the recruitment of these crazy organizations is how they use the element of surprise. Now they have surprised us again by going for the girls,” the community leader says. The Twin Cities are a hotbed for such recruiting because they boast America’s largest Somalian population, but the problem isn’t entirely localized: In July, a 19-year-old Colorado woman was arrested for allegedly trying to join up.

In other ISIS news:  (For those that have been more concerned with the fate of the NFL to care about war)…….

  • State Department officials tell the New York Times that several Arab countries have agreed to help with the US airstrike campaign against ISIS—though some will only be providing supplies rather than running strikes of their own.
  • Iraqi officials say that France has agreed to carry out airstrikes of its own, and Australia has announced that it will be as well. Australia will also be sending 200 troops to Iraq to serve as military advisers.
  • Meanwhile, ISIS has been enjoying a PR boon of sorts among extremists online thanks to its string of grisly beheading videos, the Guardian reports. “The wannabe foreign fighters are excited by these killings,” the director of the International Center for the Study of Radicalization explains. “People in Tunisia and Libya are particularly interested in the prospect of fighting American and now British enemies. This is turning on people who were radicalized before this conflict started but weren’t particularly excited by the Sunni-Shia battle.”

Women?  This could be their undoing if not handled properly……