U.S. Army Tries to Get Dead Soldiers to Re-Up

It seems as if dying once for your country is not enough, anymore. AP reports that even dead soldiers are being recruited to re-enlist for military service.

The story states that the U.S. Army recently sent out letters to 5,100 former military officers who recently left the service.

Included in this mailing were 75 soldiers who had "left the service" because they had been killed while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. In addition, letters were sent to 200 soldiers who had "left the service" due to wounds and injuries received while on active duty.

In response to this horrific blunder the Army has issued an apology to the families and has explained that, while their records are kept up-to-date, this mailing used an old list by mistake.

I hope that this incident does not reflect any sense of desparation in meeting the potential need for a "surge" in the number of deployed troops widely expected to be announced by President Bush next week.