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Good points. I don't really have a problem with retention/recruitment bonuses for specific trades (the RAF Regiment, my own branch of service, has been throwing them out pretty frequently, with the result that it was, last time I checked, I overmanned. Which is nice), but what I disagree with is the concept of infantry (or whatever trade takes your fancy) getting more privileges, better housing, more time off, etc than any other enlisted personnel. For officers, that's the way it's always been, and there is a general acceptance that that's how things work. I just think that a lot of skilled non-combat arms tradesmen will not take kindly to that suddenly becoming applied to their own place in the military, as compared to infantry, and may even start wondering if the civilian world is a better place to find employment.
For myself, and most of my colleagues, we would have welcomed more pay and better housing. However, we didn't need it to make us stay in, or to attract the best recruits. We already felt we were better than those around us who hadn't been through the same training that we had, and who worked 9-5 jobs for the most part. I think that a lot of units create their own sense of elitism, and that it does work as a means of attracting and retaining the right kind of recruits.
Of course, the caveat to all of this is that I have no indepth knowledge of how the US Army works, or what it's culture is like. I'm coming at this from the standpoint of not having seen a lack of quality amongst infantry, certainly not to the extent you suggest. But then, my experience is different to yours.
As an aside, the British Army uses a personal fitness test similar to that of the US Army (press-ups, sit-ups and a 1.5 mile run in PT kit) plus a Combat Fitness Test which is 6-8 miles as a squad with CEMO, the exact time, distance and weights carried varying with arm. It's always been my experience that regardless of what your fitness test standard actually is, only doing the minimum gets you in lots of trouble.
The RAF Regiment uses the biannual RAF Fitness Test, which is press-ups, sit-ups and a bleep test. They also add the annual ROFA, a 2 day event which consists of a CEMO march similar to the Army Infantry CFT, a speed march in CEFO, a dummy drag, a sprint carrying two jerry cans, and a bergen lift onto the back of a vehicle. They've been experimenting with modifying it, and we recently trialled the addition of another bleep test (higher standard required than the normal RAF one and no reductions for age), a swim test, pull-ups, and a fire and movement lane consisting of alternate sprinting and crawling for a set distance. The next year we went back to the old one, though I hear the improved version is still being worked on. Regardless, I always used to like the CEMO march. 8 miles was almost the exact distance from the Squadron buildings to the CS chamber, and thus it was always used as an opportunity to get our annual NBC testing in after the march....
For myself, and most of my colleagues, we would have welcomed more pay and better housing. However, we didn't need it to make us stay in, or to attract the best recruits. We already felt we were better than those around us who hadn't been through the same training that we had, and who worked 9-5 jobs for the most part. I think that a lot of units create their own sense of elitism, and that it does work as a means of attracting and retaining the right kind of recruits.
Of course, the caveat to all of this is that I have no indepth knowledge of how the US Army works, or what it's culture is like. I'm coming at this from the standpoint of not having seen a lack of quality amongst infantry, certainly not to the extent you suggest. But then, my experience is different to yours.
As an aside, the British Army uses a personal fitness test similar to that of the US Army (press-ups, sit-ups and a 1.5 mile run in PT kit) plus a Combat Fitness Test which is 6-8 miles as a squad with CEMO, the exact time, distance and weights carried varying with arm. It's always been my experience that regardless of what your fitness test standard actually is, only doing the minimum gets you in lots of trouble.
The RAF Regiment uses the biannual RAF Fitness Test, which is press-ups, sit-ups and a bleep test. They also add the annual ROFA, a 2 day event which consists of a CEMO march similar to the Army Infantry CFT, a speed march in CEFO, a dummy drag, a sprint carrying two jerry cans, and a bergen lift onto the back of a vehicle. They've been experimenting with modifying it, and we recently trialled the addition of another bleep test (higher standard required than the normal RAF one and no reductions for age), a swim test, pull-ups, and a fire and movement lane consisting of alternate sprinting and crawling for a set distance. The next year we went back to the old one, though I hear the improved version is still being worked on. Regardless, I always used to like the CEMO march. 8 miles was almost the exact distance from the Squadron buildings to the CS chamber, and thus it was always used as an opportunity to get our annual NBC testing in after the march....
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