US soldiers offered cash to stay

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

The US army, stressed by numerous global deployments, is offering re-enlistment bonuses of up to $US10,000 to soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, army officials say.

Soldiers currently in those countries -and others headed there in the coming three months to replace them- could receive lump payments of between $US5,000 and $US10,000 for enlisting for at least three years of additional army service, the officials told reporters.

The drive to keep troops came as the army said it would prohibit soldiers serving in or rotating home from Iraq and Afghanistan this winter and spring from retiring or leaving the service for other reasons while there or for up to 90 days after returning to their home bases.

Colonel Elton Manske, a spokesman in the office of the army's deputy chief of staff, says the army has budgeted $US63 million for the re-enlistment programme in the current fiscal year ending next September 30.

more: http://onenews.nzoom.com/onenews_detail/0,1227,246964-1-9,00.html

How much is a life worth today?

[POed_Ex_Repub]

1. Think anyone will actually take the money?

Hmm... what's $5,000 after taxes? In return for 3 YEARS of service? If they make it $50,000 people MIGHT consider it.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

2. Ten grand is a lot to a 19 year old. And there will be some that take

the deal and lose their life.

Support our soldiers and bring them home.

[Zech Marquis]

3. let'see here

5 to 10 grand to spend x number of years in Iraq, Kuwait, and/or Afghanistan, where the people would rather see me blown up than say hi...pass! No amount of money can buy back your limbs and peace of mind...

[JohnOneillsMemory]

4. Let's lobby soldiers and students to stay away from illegal wars.

Since the petro-nazis are worried about running out of cannon fodder, let us begin an all out campaign to inform the current members of the armed services (and the high school students being recruited for the next wars) of just who these fuckers in the White House are and what they are up to in their plans for empire.

Our military is already demoralized and opting out from the game, high school students won't want any part of dying for oil and empire.

If the petro-nazis don't have the man-power, they'll have to change their playbook for world domination. This could buy us the time we need to work up an informed electorate to stop these corporate terrorists who have hijacked the US gov't.

[Voltaire99]

7. Well said!

You're right, JohnOneillsMemory. This is the work of all Americans of conscience and understanding, and it has to be carried far and wide.

[jpak]

5. $10,000 bucks for a 3 year gig???????????

I hope Rummy didn't tell these guys/gals that the Haliburton contract truck drivers they protect and die for on a daily basis to bring them their meager 3 liter per day water ration (in 120 degree F heat) are getting paid....

(now get this)

$125,000(US) per year + travel + per diem

and that Rummy don't have no green back dollars for ceramic flak jak inserts or add-on armor for they's humvees to pro-tect them from the grateful I-raqis

Say it ain't so Rummy - say it hain't so.

[aquart]

6. Tell me again how privatization is cheaper?

[jpak]

8. Shhhhhhhh (it ain't supposed to be cheaper, Lib'rl)

It's supposed to boost Dick Cheney's (and his drankin' buddy's) stock op-shuns so they's can pays off mo' GOP non-poleetishuns so they's can vote in mo' special tax laws to makes them mo' money so they's can make mo' campain contreebushuns to they's GOP flunkies so they's can make mo' money....

I got to stop now - Ize gettin' dizzy...

oh sheeee-it !!!!!!- I thinks I gonna puke.....

[lebkuchen]

9. Three months ago it was $5,000 for 3 years

so at least they've increased it 100%, LOL.

BTW, who's going to want to enlist when one doesn't know for how long he/she will be serving? That will be the under-cutting effect of stop/loss.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

18. Holy shit! A truck driver???? n/t

[jpak]

19. I was home in Maine for the holidays and read a local

newspaper report about a Maine trucker who landed a job in I-raq.

He was, however, $11K behind in his child support .

The State of Maine nipped his passport until he arranged to make child support payments from his new $125,000 per year Haliburton gig.

I also talked to a taxicab driver who knew construction workers that were making up to $200 per hour for 6 month Haliburton bridge repair jobs.

If Haliburton can afford to pay those wages to average joes, just imagine how much the top management is making....

Your no-bid crony contract tax dollars at work.

[shawn703]

10. Is there a limit to how long you can be forced to stay in the military?

Just wondering why they're offering a $10,000 bonus to reenlist, when they're already using those stop-loss orders anyway? So if you don't take the money, could they tell you "Too bad, you're atill staying"?

(I'm not sure how stop-loss orders work, so if anyone would care to enlighten me, please do!)

[saigon68]

16. Should be an Exxon-Mobil sign

Hoisted by the marines---oh well

[JasonDeter]

11. Why is the bush military lying?

"stressed by numerous global deployments" is a lie. The only thing stressing the miliary is the Iraq deployment.

[revcarol]

12. Afghanistan and over 100 other countries.

Everyone's getting stressed out by deployments. 3 months "home" subject to deployment, then six months' to a year deployment, and that's non-critical specialties and nonPerian Gulf, Afghanistan people. People don't recognize their kids any more.

took Bill Clinton's already stressed military, and stressed it some more. One day that rubber band is going to break.

[JasonDeter]

15. bushie getting tarred and feathered. If the rubber band broke like that!

I would love that.

[tridim]

13. Does this go hand in hand with the stop-loss?

You can't retire, but if you take this 10 grand you can go back to Iraq. Huh???

[truthspeaker]

20. stop loss is only for 90 days

re-enlistment is for three years

conscription? we don't know yet

[trogdor]

23. The point is, they don't want to do stop-loss

It's politically uncomfortable. Better to try to get people to volunteer to stay.

Me? I'm outathere as soon as I get my 20-year letter. Gone. No more of this, "you're on alert, but nobody knows when the orders will go out." Enough is enough.

[cliss]

14. Take a guess at how much

combat pay is per month. This is while you are risking your life, 24 hours a day, eating stale MRE's, in a hostile environment where they want you out of there, and you are seconding the motion.

500?
400?
300?????

$225.00 per MONTH for combat pay. A lot of soldiers are going to come home to homes in foreclosure because they could not make their payments. On top of that, divorces are increasing.

Who in their right mind would go for something like that?

[cthrumatrix]

17. cheap labor again.... I wonder how many have a chance to regroup & think

[leesa]

21. Can't spend money when you are dead. Did we the people who are

paying for this approve of this? These guys just think our money is free money for them to toss out. Why don't they try looking a little harder for the trillion dollars "misplaced" by the DOD before 9-11?

[beanball]

25. That trillion$$$$$

wasn't misplaced it was stolen.

[velocity]

22. Cheap Ass Repugs strike again

I could be wrong, but

As I remember the re-enlistment bonus in Nam was $5,000 -$10,000 and one could buy a new Mustang or other nice car and have money left over.....

[Johnyawl]

27. partly right...

...the Vietnam bonuses ranged from $2500-$5000 for a three year re-enlistment. A six year re-enlistment doubled those amounts.

And you're right about what that could buy you, relative to today. Hell, the $3800 I was offered would have made a real decent down payment on a house.

[Ernesto]

24. Hate to break it to all you non-military types

but re-enlistment bonuses are nothing new.

[Johnyawl]

26. They did the same thing during Vietnam

Depending upon your MOS (Military Occupational Specialty), rank, & experience, you could get between $2500-$6000 for a three year re-enlistment. And that was in 1971.

I was offered $3800. And came very close to taking it.