US woos soldiers with early exit

Faced with a drastic shortage of recruits, the US Army has widened a scheme to offer would-be soldiers the option to sign up for just 15 months.

The minimum period a recruit can usually enlist for is four years.

But in an attempt to help recruiters meet their quotas, the army has announced the 15-month active service programme will be launched nationwide.

The recruiters have been struggling to meet targets as the Iraq war continues with ever-rising US casualties.

Targets missed

Chief of army recruiting Maj Gen Michael Rochelle admitted the military was encountering the "toughest recruiting climate we've ever faced in the all-volunteer army".

The army managed only 68% of its target in March and 73% in February, and provisional figures for April also showed a shortfall, a Pentagon spokesman said.

The last time a monthly quota was missed was in May 2000.>>>> continued

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4544701.stm