Should I Stay or Should I Go?

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that 80% of Utah National Guard troops intend to reenlist - a number similar to retention rates nationwide. Army and Air Guard members have served numerous deployments to the Middle East and elsewhere, and many of the Utah troops surveyed are now preparing for Iraq.

Utah has shouldered more than its share of mobilizations. Shortly after the terrorist attacks on the U.S., Utah led the nation when more than 80 percent of its forces were placed on alert or mobilized. Those early deployments have resulted in Utah Guard members serving more tours than their counterparts nationwide.

Nationally, of the nearly 500,000 Guard and reservists deployed since September 2001, only about 76,600 have been called up twice - and all but 2,200 of them volunteered for a second tour, according to the Pentagon. And nearly one-third of the volunteers - for both Guard and reserves - listed a Utah address.

And we'll let them explain their motivations - for staying in or getting out - in their own words.

From the 80% staying in:
"Age 55 Guard retirement."
"It's who I am; it's what I do."
"Camaraderie."
"Duty, honor, country."
"Fight the war."
"Full-time job."
"I'm an American and we are at war."
"I actually like my job."
"If not me, who will do it?"
"I love it!"
"It's the right thing to do."
"Lisa."
"Love for my country."
"Loyalty to country and retirement."
"Patriotism and paycheck."
"Protection of U.S. way of life."
"The country needs us."
"USA, brother!"

From the 20% getting out:
"1st Sgts. & platoon leaders."
"Don't care anymore."
"Family."
"Got another job."
"I want to be free."
"Lack of leadership."
"Medical insurance is very bad. They don't pay!!!"
"Nobody can get the pay right. Takes too long to fix."
"Not enough money or bonuses."
"Not worth the risk."
"Tired of higher rank bullheadedness and lower rank slothfulness."

Would anything make you change your mind and re-enlist?
"$50,000."
"A conflict that I believe in."
"Better training. Better leaders. Less inspections."
"Change leadership."
"Dream on!"
"Get rid of the stupids."
"Health benefits for guard members."
"Maybe if they paid me $1,000,000."
"No."
"None."
"Nope."
"If my wife said yes, but that will never happen."
"Promotion and big bonus."
"Reduce the stupidity."
"Retirement - same as full-time soldiers."
"There's not enough paper to list everything."
"Three years for $30,000 signing bonus."
"Truck load of cash."
"Two-rank promotion and a desk job."
"Yes, GI Bill extension, $25,000 re-enlistment bonus."

But the best quote of the piece comes from 1Lt Bruce Bishop, a Salt Lake County firefighter and Afghanistan veteran who's currently deployed to Louisiana. I can hear Dave Letterman introducing this one: The number one reason for staying in the Guard is:

..."because as I look around at the state of this nation and see all of the weak little pampered candy-asses that are whining about this or protesting that, I'd be afraid to leave the fate of this nation entirely up to them."

Update: A look at two organizations experiencing varying degrees of success at Iraq war recruiting here.

(Also see a recent discussion on recruiting here.)