I’m thinking that the Army hitting its recruiting goal for the year is a good thing. The nation really is at war, even if the bulk of the population doesn’t realize it; yet. The fight against terrorism is going to be a multi-generational fight that the next administration is going to have to continue no matter what the polling numbers indicate.

With an economy that’s stronger than at any point in the past decade filling the ranks of an Army at war has been tough. The Army used to refuse to admit people that were qualified by law to serve, but not as qualified as the Army wanted. That approach built one of the strongest militaries ever seen. To have to go back and tweak some of the standards is not necessarily a bad thing. Letting a guy in that’s a few pounds over weight, but was four year letterman offensive lineman is a smart idea if he shows that he’ willing to serve and shed a few pounds during basic training. Why should a kid that dropped out of high school, but went back to get a GED, not have a chance to serve their nation?

The Army is still an elite group of men and women. Over 80% of American kids can’t get past the enlistment physical. That’s where the shame is. American parents are too busy with careers and cocktail parties to make their sons and daughters step away from the computer and video games to play outside is what we should rail against. It teaches the kids that no one really cares about them long term. The Army teaches them the opposite.

Beating the terrorist wolves back from our door step is going to take at least two generations of warriors. The fact that the youth of America are willing to be a part of the struggle is a positive. Maybe there’s hope for them yet.