[antimedia] antimedia: One of the things that irritates me to no end....

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Posted by antimedia:
One of the things that irritates me to no end....
http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1176663007.shtml


   ....is the [1]constantly lying about our military. It almost makes you
   think that the media and the Democrats hate the military so much that
   they will lie about it every chance they get.
   Here's WaPo [2]lying through their teeth about the Army.

     Army Basic Training has not been shortened [W. Thomas Smith Jr.]
     An editorial in today's Washington Times, quoting the National
     Journal, says:

     The high demand for fresh troops has led the Army to reduce basic
     training from 14 weeks to nine ...

     But that's not so. Army basic training has been nine-weeks long for
     as long as Army officials can remember, certainly long before 9/11.
     Marine Corps recruit training (unofficially known as "Marine boot
     camp") is 12 weeks long, 13 if counting "receiving week."

   One phone call would have prevented this lie, but it wasn't made.
   That's deliberate.
   Democrats constantly repeat the canard that troops are drawn from the
   poor, the uneducated and minorities. [3]That's a lie (pdf) as well.

     Each year, about 180,000 young Americans enlist for active duty
     service in the Armed Forces. A number of myths have been
     perpetuated about those young people who volunteer to serve. The
     information herein is intended to dispel such myths.
     Myth: Military recruits are less educated and of lower aptitude
     than American youth.
     Fact: The opposite is true. Over 90 percent of military recruits
     have a high school diploma
     â a credential held by only about 75 percent of their peers. A
     traditional high school diploma
     is the best single predictor of âstick-to-it-ivenessâ and
     successful adjustment to the military.
     Recruits with a high school diploma have a 70-percent probability
     of completing a three-year
     term of enlistment, compared with a 50-percent likelihood for
     non-graduates.
     Nearly two-thirds of todayâs recruits are drawn from the top-half
     of America in math and verbal
     aptitudes â a strong determinant of training success and job
     performance (Figure 1).

   Get that? It's not a matter of dispute over interpretation. It's
   exactly the opposite.
   More myths puntured:

     Myth: The Military attracts disproportionately from poor or
     underprivileged youth.
     Fact: Military recruits mirror the US population and are solidly
     middle class.
     Myth: A disproportionate number of military recruits come from
     urban areas.
     Fact: Urban areas are the most underrepresented. (Ed: Considering
     that the urban areas are Democrat strongholds and Democrats
     constantly harangue about this, it's no wonder recruiting is
     under-performing there.)
     Myth: African Americans suffer a disproportionate number of
     casualties.
     Fact: The opposite is true.
     Myth: The military is not geographically representative of America.
     Fact: Military recruits are closely proportionate to the general
     population.
     Myth: The military takes no better than an average cut of American
     youth when it
     comes to medical or physical conditioning.
     Fact: About half of today's youth are not medically or physically
     qualified against current, and necessary, enlistment standards.
     Myth: The Military is a good alternative for youthful offenders.
     Fact: Current enlistment standards bar many youthful offenders from
     enlisting.
     Myth: Incentives and bonuses are not very effective in stimulating
     recruiting.
     Fact: Bonuses and incentives are instrumental to the Services'
     recruiting efforts.

   I know it's too much to ask that the Democrats stop lying, but is it
   too much to ask that the media stop lying?
   So how is recruiting doing? [4]Very well, thank you.

References

   1. http://www.mudvillegazette.com/milblogs/2007/04/13/#008500
   2. http://tank.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MTc1MWRjMDBmOGYzMjRjYzZhYmM2ZDliZDdhNTk5NGM=
   3. http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/d20051213mythfact.pdf
   4. http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=10723