[frankthetank]

Giving them that green funny money to stay in. I wonder @ one point they'll just start paying people off in crude.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he bonuses can range from a few thousand dollars to as much as $150,000 for very senior special forces soldiers who re-enlist for six years. All told, the Army and Marines spent $1.03 billion for re-enlistment payments last year, compared with $174 million in 2003, the year the war in Iraq began.

[Plantagenet]

Soldiers get paid like everyone else.

They aren't going to do their jobs for free.

[frankthetank]

Personally, i feel they get paid shit considering they are working 24hrs a day and could have their legs blown off @ the next bend in the road. My point was the spending increase. The fact that such a huge amt of money has had to be used to "entice" these people to stay in. It just shows how hard up the military is for people. Just add it to the US Taxpayer credit card i guess. We have to fight the terrorists on their turf, so then we don't have to fight them in are backyards/walmart parking lots...

[Plantagenet]

Yup. Those are pretty hefty bonuses.

This is the first time the US has fought an extended war with an all-volunteer army. In past wars the US would just extend enlistments or draft new soldiers.