“We have two missions: get the GED and prepare them physically and mentally for basic training,” said the school’s commander, Capt. Brian Gaddis.

Last October, Army officials said they intended to expand the force by adding 74,000 soldiers by 2010, with the active duty force growing to a total of 547,000.

But Sanderson said the Army’s own studies show that only 3 in 10 people ages 17 to 24 are eligible to enlist, with the remainder barred by health or legal issues, or the failure to earn a high school diploma or equivalent.

A study issued by the National Priorities Project released in January found that while the Army has a goal that 90 percent of recruits be high school graduates, it hadn’t met that percentage since 2004. In the 2007 budget year, the Project found that only 71 percent of soldiers entering the service had graduated.

SOURCE:

We need more young bodies to fuel George Bush’s endless war(s). I find it so sad that my country spends so little money on these same kids to keep them in High School, instead the dropout  rate continues to grow at an alarming rate.

Have no fear though, if John McCain gets elected we won’t need to set up prep schools to recruit more young bodies…. he’ll reinstate the draft and they won’t have a choice.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Five years after launching the invasion of Iraq, President Bush strongly signaled Wednesday that he won’t order troop withdrawals beyond those already planned because he refuses to “jeopardize the hard-fought gains” of the past year.

As anti-war activists demonstrated around downtown Washington, the president spoke at the Pentagon to mark the anniversary of a war that has cost nearly 4,000 U.S. lives and roughly $500 billion. The president’s address was part of a series of events the White House planned around the anniversary and next month’s report from the top U.S. figures in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker. That report will be the basis for Bush’s first troop-level decision in seven months.

“The battle in Iraq has been longer and harder and more costly than we anticipated,” Bush said.   ya think? And how long do you think the US can foot the $12 billion monthly tab President Bush?

But, he added, before an audience of Pentagon brass, soldiers and diplomats: “The battle in Iraq is noble, it is necessary, and it is just. And with your courage, the battle in Iraq will end in victory.”  noble, necessary and just, unbelievable!

And comments the 3 US Presidential candidates made today marking the 5th anniversary of the US led invasion of Iraq:

* Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton told an audience of supporters in Detroit that the United States could start withdrawing troops within 60 days of her taking office and that it was up to the Iraqis to take responsibility for their country’s future.
“We cannot win their civil war. There is no military solution,” Clinton said.

* Democratic candidate Barack Obama said if elected he would immediately begin withdrawing troops in a process that could last 16 months, leaving only forces to guard the U.S. embassy and “a counter-terrorism force to strike al Qaeda if it forms a base that the Iraqis cannot destroy.”
In a speech in North Carolina, he criticized Clinton, for voting for the Senate 2002 resolution that authorized President George W. Bush to take military action in Iraq. “Ask yourself: who do you trust to end a war — someone who opposed the war from the beginning, or someone who started opposing it when they started preparing a run for president?”

* Republican candidate John McCain, who visited Iraq this week, said in a statement that “America and our allies stand on the precipice of winning a major victory against radical Islamic extremism.
“The security gains over the past year have been dramatic and undeniable. … Americans should be proud that they led the way in removing a vicious, predatory dictator and opening the possibility of a free and stable Iraq.”

Source: Reuters