U.S. Soldiers Re-Enlist in Strong Numbers
By KIMBERLY HEFLING, AP
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (April 23) - Despite the shrapnel wounds Staff Sgt. William
Pinkley suffered during his tour in Iraq, the 26-year-old is joining other
soldiers who are re-enlisting at rates that exceed the retention goals set by
the Pentagon.
As of March 31 - halfway through the Army's fiscal year - 28,406 soldiers had
signed on for another tour of duty, topping the six-month goal of 28,377. The
Army's goal is to re-enlist 56,100 soldiers by the end of September.
Talk About It
· Chat
Pinkley re-enlisted for three more years, citing the camaraderie and the
challenge of a new assignment.
"To come out and work with you guys every day, it's a good feeling," Pinkley,
26, told his 101st Airborne Division buddies during the ceremony earlier this
month. His wife, Kimberly, watched with a smile, their toddler in her arms.
"It's a very positive retention picture at this point," said Lt. Col. Franklin
Childress, an Army public affairs officer. The Army had nearly a half-million
active-duty soldiers.
However, Childress cautioned that factors such as an improved economy and the
Pentagon's decision to keep about 20,000 troops in Iraq for longer than a year
to help quell the violence could change the picture.
The Marines, which along with the Army have borne the brunt of combat in Iraq,
said they have already fulfilled 90 percent of their retention goal for the
fiscal year for getting Marines to re-up after their initial commitment. The
Air Force and the Navy said they, too, are exceeding goals for getting airmen
and sailors to re-enlist.
Some contend a poor job market and re-enlistment bonuses worth thousands of
dollars are keeping soldiers in the Army. Col. Joseph Anderson, commander of
the 101st's 2nd Brigade, said it is more about camaraderie, patriotism and
duty.
"They've had a personally rewarding and professionally developing experience,"
Anderson said. "I think they've formed some bonds that are going to last a
lifetime. It tends to make them want to stay."
The only Army division to not meet its goal in the six-month period was the
82nd Airborne Division, whose members have been sent to fight in Afghanistan
and Iraq since the Sept. 11 attacks. The division wanted to re-enlist 1,221
soldiers, but got only 1,136.
At Fort Campbell, soldiers from the 101st spent seven months in Afghanistan
after the Sept. 11 attacks. The entire division of about 20,000 soldiers was
sent to Iraq last year for major combat, and the last planeload returned home
in March. A grueling year in Iraq claimed the lives of 61 Fort Campbell
soldiers, and hundreds more were wounded.
More on This Story
· AOL Military Center
In the six-month period ending March 31, the 101st topped its goal of
re-enlisting 1,591. It got 1,737 to sign up for another tour of duty.
Fort Campbell leaders said their numbers debunk the theory that yearlong
combat-zone assignments - not typically used since Vietnam - and the casualties
in Iraq would discourage soldiers from re-enlisting.
Shelley MacDermid, co-director of the Military Family Research Institute at
Purdue University, said it is too early to know what effect the war in Iraq
will have long-term on recruitment and retention.
"If the war were to end tomorrow, the impact on re-enlistments likely would be
very different than three years from now," MacDermid said.
Some soldiers, of course, are getting out, for themselves or for their
families. ("There's a saying in the Army - `You enlist a soldier, but you
re-enlist a family' - and that's true," said Command Sgt. Maj. James Plemons,
who oversees retention for the 101st.)
Staff Sgt. Bobby Miller, 31, has spent more than 10 years in the Army said he
is getting out when his term ends in less than a year. The 101st soldier has
served in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq and said he has barely seen his wife and
two children in the past few years.
"It's not that we don't want to deploy; I'd like a little more stabilization,"
Miller said.
Pinkley was riding in a Humvee the day after Thanksgiving when it was rocked by
a bomb. He suffered internal injuries and is still healing from the shrapnel
wounds. He said he and his wife discussed for more than a year whether he
should re-enlist.
In the end, despite his pain and his wife's fear for his life, they decided it
was best for both of them, she said. His next position will be as a drill
sergeant at Fort Benning, Ga.
"I'm excited about it," his wife said. "It's something he wanted to do. We told
him we'd be supportive of him whatever he wanted." As for the possibility of
her husband being sent off to a combat zone again, she said: "We would
definitely do it again if we had to."
04/23/04 17:00 EDT
.
|
