WASHINGTON — Two of every three eligible soldiers continue to re-enlist, putting the Army, which has endured most of the fighting in Iraq, ahead of its annual goal.
The Army was 15% ahead of its re-enlistment goal of 34,668 for the first six months of fiscal year 2006, which ended March 31. More than 39,900 soldiers had re-enlisted, according to figures scheduled to be released today by the Army. . . .
The Army has met or exceeded its goals for retention for the past five years, records show. It was 8% over its goal for 2005, and 7% ahead of its targets for 2004. The number of re-enlistments has exceeded the Army's goal by a larger margin each year since 2001.
Soldiers like the Army, "and the war is not causing people to leave," says Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, an Army spokesman.
So much for the tired and broken-down military Demcorats are always telling us about. We go to war in Iraq and what happens? Desertion rates plummet and retention rates soar. Meaning that the troops, the ones actually engaged in fighting the war in Iraq, believe in the mission so much that they're staying in the military in greater numbers than they did when this country was at peace.
Which is a remarkable thing that would be even more remarkable if the media could stop their endless stream of "things are awful" and "we're losing" stories about Iraq long enough to take note outside of an article or two in passing.