Military Loves Poverty

No comment:

As combat in Iraq makes it hard to fill the ranks of the all-volunteer force, Pentagon demographic information shows that the military is leaning heavily for recruits in economically depressed, rural areas where youths' need for jobs may outweigh the risks of going to war.

More than 44 percent of US military recruits come from rural areas, according to Pentagon figures. In contrast, 14 percent come from major cities. Youths living in the most sparsely populated ZIP code areas are 22 percent more likely to join the Army than the norm, with an opposite trend in cities. Regionally, most enlistees come from the South (40 percent) and West (24 percent).

Many recruits are strapped. Almost half come from lower-middle-class to poor households, according to Pentagon data based on ZIP codes and census estimates of mean household income.

Almost two-thirds of Army recruits in 2004 came from counties in which median household income is below the US median.