The Mis-Managed War

From Progress Report 10/11/2007

The Army is offering large cash bonuses in the face of "a critical shortage of officer ranks that have been hit hard by frequent deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan." "Army officials said that lengthy and repeated war-zone tours -- the top reason younger officers leave the service -- plus the need for thousands of new officers as the Army moves forward with expansion plans have contributed to a projected shortfall of about 3,000 captains and majors for every year through 2013." In an effort to stem these shortages, the Army has offered bonuses of "$25,000 to $35,000 in exchange for committing to serve three more years." So far, about 6,000 of the eligible 18,000 officers have taken the bonus. This shortfall is not unique to officers; the Army was able to meet its recruitment goal recently but only by rushing "enlistees into its ranks more quickly than usual, depleting the number in the pipeline for next year to less than 7,000 -- the smallest in more than a decade." In a press conference Monday, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey stated the Army would continue to be "out of balance" as long as significant number of U.S. troops occupy Iraq.