Comments on: OIF Climate Survey http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/oif_climate_survey/ Online Journal of Politics and Foreign Affairs Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:42:30 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Jim http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/oif_climate_survey/comment-page-1/#comment-15872 Jim Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000 /?p=5929#comment-15872 Interesting survey. Not exactly what you would expect. One thing to remember is that this was taken while in Iraq. Re-enlistments happen at various times: the one big advantage of re-enlisting in Iraq is that any bonus is completly tax free. I am not quite sure about how that would affect reservists. One other little tidbit is that the Army is trying to restructure and keep soliders at units longer. The old standard was about 3 years before changing posts; the new one is going to be 6 years to CONUS locations. I am not sure how that would affect such things as recruiter duty and joint duty but 6 years in one post would be a little too long for my taste. I could survive 6 years in Fort Carson, CO but Fort Polk, LA would be torture and would certainly affect my potential for re-enlisting. Re-enlisting is a personal decision that is affected by many things beyond a tour in Iraq. Family, friends, duty and lifestyle are all combined. One thing that has not been addressed is the improving economy: the prospect of a good job outside (even as a contractor to Iraq) could tip people not to re-enlist. --- Interesting survey. Not exactly what you would expect. One thing to remember is that this was taken while in Iraq. Re-enlistments happen at various times: the one big advantage of re-enlisting in Iraq is that any bonus is completly tax free. I am not quite sure about how that would affect reservists.
One other little tidbit is that the Army is trying to restructure and keep soliders at units longer. The old standard was about 3 years before changing posts; the new one is going to be 6 years to CONUS locations. I am not sure how that would affect such things as recruiter duty and joint duty but 6 years in one post would be a little too long for my taste. I could survive 6 years in Fort Carson, CO but Fort Polk, LA would be torture and would certainly affect my potential for re-enlisting.
Re-enlisting is a personal decision that is affected by many things beyond a tour in Iraq. Family, friends, duty and lifestyle are all combined. One thing that has not been addressed is the improving economy: the prospect of a good job outside (even as a contractor to Iraq) could tip people not to re-enlist.

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