Redstate

By Raven Comments (0) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

(And Other Interesting News)

In this article in the local newspaper in my area, the Army made the front page in an unusual way. It was good news. A celebration, even, of Army efforts and the people who risk their lives for their nation.

Believe it or not, it was written from interviews with new recruits and recruiters who had not only NOT done wrong by their local community, but actually were doing well and proud of their ability to find qualified persons in their Areas of Operation (AOs).

The article spent an inordinate amount of time discussing the military's (specifically the Army and Marines) plans to grow over the next few years before getting into the local conditions and recruiting efforts.
It mentions, briefly, the difficulty of finding people who meet the demanding qualifications to join the Army (less than 3% of all Americans who meet the age/citizenship requirements meet the remaining criteria) but goes on to quote a local recruiter who "is not in the business of convincing people to join." The writer, Miss Jessica Vanderkolk, leaves it unsaid that obviously it is not so hard to find willing and qualified applicants that cheating is neccessary to meet the mission. Great news in this day of recruiting scandals.

There Are a pair of negative statements in the article, a whole, whopping Two of them, but they serve to highlight the kind of folks who persevere to enlist. The first is a quote from the aforementioned recruiter "Things have changed — it’s not in fashion to want to serve [the] country."
The other is from his boss, SFC Chris Stapleton, "I have a lot of younger kids who want to join and want to serve and can’t get over the hump of their parents not wanting them to go."

And yet, even in the last 2 years, the number and quality of recruits has improved noticeably both to the soldiers manning the recruiting stations and to the soldiers who enlist and their friends and families. Most noticeable, the individuals who sign up these days are more confident in themselves and their nation and willing and able to stand against the tide of peer pressure.

Incredible to hear these days. Especially coming out of the Press...

In other news, it seems CAIR is up in arms over the new season of "24".
Rabiah Ahmed, of CAIR, says that the "overwhelming impression you get is fear and hatred of Muslims." They have quite apparently ignored the fact that Russians, white businessmen and even the President of the USA have all taken their own turns as the enemy in "24".

All I have to say to Miss Ahmed is, "You are right to fear the impression given by "24" just as we are right to fear what your fellow Muslims may do in the name of their religion. We want to be wrong, but the burden lies with you to prove that we are."