Military Re-enlistments

W. Thomas Smith at NRO reviews military re-enlistments numbers for new VA Senator James Webb (D), who stated in his response to the SOU speech that the majority of the military no longer supports the war. Smith finds some pretty conclusive evidence to the contrary that the soldiers and Marines on the ground believe both in the service and in the war.

"The Army’s reenlistment numbers for the past six years break down as follows: For Fiscal Year 2006 (FY06), the Army’s goal was to retain 64,200 soldiers already on active duty. The service exceeded that goal by retaining 67,307 eligible soldiers. In other words, 3,107 soldiers — in addition to the ones the Army had hoped to re-up — raised their right hands and swore to continue defending the nation even if it meant service in Iraq. That’s 105 percent of the goal of re-upping eligible soldiers "

The Army hit 108% of goal in fiscal 2005, 107% in 2004, 106% in 2003, and was around 102% in 2002 and 2001. The Marines have already hit 82% of their 2007 retention targets, with 8 months to go, and routinely exceed their numbers as well in recent years. It would appear that the people doing the fighting certainly think that continued service is worth pursuing, even with multiple deployments and dangers that I can only imagine.