Army's $20,000 bonus attractive lure

WASHINGTON, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Critics say the U.S. Army's new "Quick Ship" program trades quality for quantity in recruiting new soldiers.

"My sense is that right now, they're willing to take anybody who is willing to walk in the door and ship by Sept. 30," said Cindy Williams, an analyst in Security Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

More than 90 percent of the Army's new recruits since late July have accepted the $20,000 "quick ship" bonus to leave for basic combat training September's end, putting thousands of Americans into uniform almost immediately.

The program began in late July and in the first three weeks had enlisted 3,814 recruits, The Washington Post reported Monday. The $20,000 bonus represents more than a year's pay for soldiers coming out of initial training, The Post reported.

The program could pose problems for the Army in future months because the young men and women who might have helped fill recruiting quotas later this year or in early 2008 are instead joining now, The Post reported.