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Politics : Clinton -- doomed & wagging, Japan collapses, Y2K bug, etc -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SOROS who wrote (481)	9/25/1998 11:40:00 PM
From: Mac	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1151

SOROS, I appreciate your insight. My only thought is: " for GOD'S sake, live until you die. " We are all going to check out of here one day or the other. Besides, we've all got more work to do!

To: SOROS who wrote (481)	9/26/1998 9:36:00 AM
From: SOROS	Respond to of 1151

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers concerned about filling the ranks of America's fighting forces raised the prospect Friday of renewing the draft. But military leaders said the all-volunteer force of 1.4 million is sufficient for now, though they suggested better pay, benefits and living conditions for the troops. After a House hearing on military readiness, a key defense lawmaker, GOP Rep. Stephen Buyer of Indiana, said, "A lot of young people are escaping their civic responsibilities. There are benefits to a draft." Buyer, chairman of the House National Security subcommittee on military personnel, asked during the hearing, "Have we reached the point where we can no longer fill the ranks with the all-volunteer force?" Rep. Norman Sisisky, D-Va., said he has been "preaching" for several years that reviving the draft might be necessary if attracting Americans to the military becomes too hard. "The worst nightmare for a congressman is to have to vote for Selective Service. ... But there's a possibility that that's going to happen," Sisisky said. Male high school graduates still must register for the Selective Service, but the United States has not drafted the nation's youth into the military since the Vietnam War ended. While some military branches are having trouble signing up recruits, military leaders told lawmakers it is too soon to consider renewing the draft. Instead, they suggested raising military pay, boosting retirement benefits and improving living conditions for troops. "The time is not now, quite frankly, to talk through that (draft idea) because of the success we have today," said Gen. David Bramlett, who recently retired as head of the U.S. Army Forces Command. The House on Thursday approved a 3.6 percent military pay raise as part of a $270.5 billion defense bill. The Senate was expected to approve higher salaries as well. Air Force Gen. Richard Hawley, leader of the Air Combat Command, said the most serious sign of a decline in Air Force preparedness is the difficulty in retaining pilots and other specialists who can earn more in the private sector. "Our people are getting tired and they don't think the nation appreciates their service and they are voting with their feet," Hawley told lawmakers. The Air Force offers pilots bonuses and other incentives to remain in the military and the service is expected to come close to its recruiting goal this year. The Navy, on the other hand, estimates it will fall short of its recruiting goal by 7,000 and is having trouble keeping pilots in the cockpit. Military pay has lagged about 14 percent behind the private sector over the past 15 years, said Vice Admiral Herbert Browne, Jr., who commands the Navy's Pacific Fleet. "It's an all-volunteer force that we need to retain and the only way I know to do that is to pay them," he told lawmakers. "Our Navy is our people. That is our strength." The Army also is having trouble recruiting and expects to fall 1,800 short of its goal this year. The Marines Corps, meanwhile, is bringing in plenty of fresh faces thanks to 60-hour work weeks by recruiters and a $10 million-a-year advertising campaign. "Our young men and women are not lining up" to join the Marines, said Lt. Gen. Peter Pace, commander of the corps' Atlantic forces. "They're being recruited." Buyer, who during visits to bases has asked commanders about reinstituting the draft, said the military should be appealing to Americans' sense of patriotism. "People are joining the military for the intangibles — duty and honor," Buyer said. "We should recruit to those intangibles. The Marines do it."

To: SOROS who wrote (481)	9/26/1998 9:37:00 AM
From: SOROS	Respond to of 1151

SEOUL, South Korea - Accusing the United States of slander, North Korea threatened Thursday to use its new rocket system for military use. North Korea fired a rocket over Japan on Aug. 31, claiming to have put its first scientific satellite into orbit. The United States considered the launch a bold demonstration of the communist nation's growing missile technology, which posed threats to two key Asian allies, Japan and South Korea, and U.S. military bases there. Friday, a North Korea publication, said that ''Whether the DPRK's launch of artificial satellite is used for military purposes or not entirely depends on the attitude of the U.S.''