Welcome to the 16th Carnival of Blue Stars. Our military men and women are our best and brightest! Their accomplishments are the pride of our country.

The Carnival of Blue Stars gives us, the families, friends, supporters, veterans and current ser…..

Interesting spin, Gaius, but you don’t provide any details about that “combination of new incentives and more aggressive recruiting.”

– Raising the sign-up bonus for new recruits to $40,000.
– Increasing the maximum sign-up age from 35 to 42.
– Allowing people with previously disqualifying criminal records to sign up.
– Accepting recruits who score at the low end on aptitude tests.

And although the Army does not officially permit it, some recruiters have encouraged potential recruits to cheat on drug tests and forge high school graduation records to qualify for admission to the Army.

Be fair, okay? You can say that these new recruits want to be in the military because they think they’re serving their country, but you could also say it’s more a matter of being *willing* to join the military despite their qualms because the “aggressive new recruiting techniques” are targeting marginally qualified people for whom the Army is an alternative to prison or working at the local car wash. if support for the war hadn’t plunged, army recruiters would not have to resort to such extreme measures to get people to sign up.