Top General: Army Recruiting Up

The Army's top general said Thursday he is encouraged by a recent rebound in recruiting, and he rejected suggestions that the stress of war in Iraq and Afghanistan is pushing the service to a breaking point.

"We're a long way from what anybody would call dire straits," Gen. Peter Schoomaker said in a breakfast interview with a group of reporters at a Washington hotel. He noted that more soldiers are signing up for additional tours that were expected, particularly among combat units that have served lengthy tours in Iraq.

Schoomaker also pointed out, for example, that the 3rd Infantry Division, the first Army division to return for a second tour in Iraq, has re-enlisted 117 percent of its goal this year, and 1st Cavalry Division retention is at 136 percent of its goal.

"This is important to us because this helps offset the shortfall in new recruits entering the ranks," he said.

Schoomaker said Army recruiting, which exceeded its monthly goals in June and July after falling short from February though May, is looking relatively strong this month. He added that the commander of the Army organization in charge of recruiting and initial military training told him recently that he thinks the Army will fall only "a couple of thousand" soldiers short of the 80,000 recruits it hoped to have by Sept. 30.

Some observers have suggested that the pace of troop deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan over the past two or three years, if not eased soon, will begin driving soldiers out of the service and weaken the service. Schoomaker, however, said he believes this worry is misdirected, exaggerated and not based in reality.

"I really don't like the way people categorize this," he said, later referring to it as hysterics. "I think we're a heck of a long way away from breaking the Army. It's a lot more resilient than people believe."

Schoomaker said the young people who join the Army have a variety of motivations for signing up, but until in the recent past, none are joining with the notion that they will being staying close to home and not facing great risks.

"Nobody is joining the Army today who doesn't expect to go to war," he said.