On Combat

Mass reenlistments are a significant affirmation of American fighting men and women’s fighting spirit. On 4 July, 2008, nearly 1% of all American service members in Iraq elected to reenlist in a ceremony committing them to 5,500 man-years of military service. (See Army.mil/news: 1,215 Servicemembers re-up in Iraq). This ceremony more than doubled last year’s Fourth of July reenlistment of 588 in Baghdad’s Al Faw Palace (see: Retention Remains High Military-Wide, Including in Combat Zone)

There are likely to be at least 1,215 different motivations as each individual made the choice to re-up. The benefits of tax-free reenlistment bonuses are certainly a draw, last year the US Army was reported to have paid $1B in bonuses; but ommitment to comrades and unit solidarity are likely to have been significant factors in building up a ceremony on this scale. Commitment to the cause behind the war must certainly have been an element of the decision as most of those re-enlisting are likely to re-deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan during the 4+ year terms they enlisted for.