Be All That You Can Be

Last month Congress approved a doubling of Army sign on bonuses, meaning a new recruit could earn as much as $40,000 just for signing on the dotted line. The amount is $20,000 for new reservists. An active duty soldier with a hard-to-fill job who meets all the right criteria could earn a staggering $90,000 simply for re-enlisting.

Also, the Army will boost the amount of student loans it can repay to $65,000. This amount, when combined with the Montgomery GI Bill, will offer recruits up to $72,424 to pursue a higher education.

Looking for a larger pool of available recruits, the Army will raise the maximum age for new recruits from 35 to 40. This raise in age matches a similar move by the Army Reserves last March. An Army press release states the higher age limit should not be a problem for troop fitness because "experience has shown that older recruits who can meet the physical demands of military service generally make excellent soldiers based on their maturity, motivation, loyalty and patriotism."

How about some damned pay raises for the difficult job these fine men are doing instead of money set aside for bait?