From Today's WSJ

Enlistment Success Story October 11, 2006; Page A14 Critics of the Iraq war often slam the Bush Administration for sending unwitting American soldiers off to an unwinnable battle. The question is: On whose behalf are these concerned folks speaking? Not the military, judging from the impressive recruitment and retention numbers for the armed forces just released by the Defense Department. The Pentagon announced yesterday that in fiscal 2006 the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines all met or exceeded active-duty recruitment goals. More impressive, the number of active duty servicemen who re-enlisted exceeded the DoD's goals in every area. Looks like many troops believe in the mission enough to willingly return to a difficult battlefield. As much as these numbers speak to patriotism, they also say something about the Defense Department's efforts to modernize its recruitment and retention program. This year's achievements are in contrast to 2005, when the Army fell about 6,600 recruits short of its goal of 80,000. Since then, services have added recruiters, revamped advertising and made a greater effort to reach out to the families of potential or acting servicemen, as spouses and relatives often help with decisions to enlist or re-enlist. The retention numbers are particularly important for the Pentagon because these experienced servicemen train the next generation. Critics took an immediate swipe at the new numbers, arguing that the Army had raised recruits' maximum allowable age to 42 from 35. Yet it turns out a tiny fraction -- maybe 500 -- of new soldiers fall into that category. The other standard complaint is that the military meets its goals because it offers cash bonuses. But these youngsters had a choice in FY 2006: The military's recruitment success took place in a period of strong economic growth that offered young people ever greater civilian job opportunities. Anyway, given how fierce the competition is for talent, the military would be derelict to not offer competitive incentives to get the best young Americans. Many of those young people, despite the luxury of choice, have decided to ship off to boot camp and join the world's finest all-volunteer military force. It'd be nice if a few more politicians and pundits respected their decision