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Army to near-retirees: "Yoink!"


The US Army's ordered that for any soldier who is part of a division set to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan within the next 90 days cannot retire until after serving another full tour of duty in whichever theatre of operations they're sent to.

"Without the program, an average division would have to replace 4,000 soldiers — perhaps one-quarter to one-fifth of its strength — before or during a deployment, according an Army press release."


A division in the US military is defined as containing between 10,000 and 15,000 soldiers. So, even taking the high-end figure, the army's expectation is that nearly one third of their force is up for retirement during the next year - or less, if the deployment period is less than one year.

Somehow, this situation doesn't make me feel especially confident about claims that volunteers are flooding into the military, and that a draft won't be seen as necessary.

Chances are, it probably won't be seen as necessary... until after the current administration wins re-election.

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