National Guard Recruitment Down

From the "Who Wouldda thunk it" department:

In the latest signs of strains on the military from the war in Iraq, the Army National Guard announced on Thursday that it had fallen 30 percent below its recruiting goals in the last two months and would offer new incentives, including enlistment bonuses of up to $15,000. The sharp decline in recruiting is significant because National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers now make up nearly 40 percent of the 148,000 troops in Iraq, and are a vital source for filling the ranks, particularly those who perform essential support tasks, like truck drivers and military police.

General Blum said the main reason for the Army National Guard's recruiting shortfall was a sharp reduction in the number of recruits joining the Guard and Reserve when they leave active duty.

Leave? Since when is anyone being allowed to leave? I thought our all volunteer army was in "nobody gets out unless they leave in a body bag" mode currently.

In an effort to halt the slide, the Army National Guard this week approved recruiting incentives that triple the enlistment bonuses to $15,000 for soldiers with prior military experience who sign up for six years (tax-free if soldiers enlist overseas), Guard officials said. Bonuses for new enlistees will increased to $10,000 from $6,000.

You know... it might just be me, but ten grand doesn't sound like all that much of an incentive to get your ass shot off. I can't imagine that anyone in the Pentagon is surprised at the shortfall of volunteers. Maybe if they finally wake up and dump Rumsfeld and get proper equipment available for everyone who is heading into the desert deathtrap they might pick up a few more.