corrente

NYT has a story today about how many old farts (which they unkindly classify as anyone 50 and older) are serving and dying in the qWagmire. Apparently so many are being used up that the Army is looking to replenish the supply...although if you look at the last graph you will see they might want to give this geezer some Attitude Adjustment sessions:

(via Columbia (SC) State)

Seven years ago, Lexington psychiatrist Charles Ham retired from the Army. Or at least he thought so.

Then, the other day, he got a call telling him to report to Fort Jackson for a physical examination.

“You know, I’m 67 years old. Why do you need me?” Ham asked.

The caller explained the Army needed psychiatrists to counsel troops.

A recent study found the suicide rate of soldiers serving in Iraq is higher than for other GIs. The suicide rate in Iraq was 17.3 per 100,000 soldiers compared with 12.8 for the Army overall.

To help remedy the problem, the study recommended the Army send more mental health specialists to combat zones.

Psychiatrists, though, are not among the most-needed troops from the Individual Ready Reserve being called up to bolster the Army, which has been stretched thin by the wars in Iraq and on terrorism.

The Army ranks truck drivers as its top need, followed by logistical specialists who track the flow of supplies on a computer, Humvee mechanics, administrative specialists and combat engineers.

Ham, who retired as a colonel, is subject to being recalled because he’s an officer, Army spokeswoman Andrea Wales said.

There is no age limit for officers to serve, she said...The maximum age on the Army’s physical fitness charts is 62 and over.

Ham said he will have a choice of either serving three months in a combat zone or spending a year at a military hospital in the United States.

Charles Ham still is amazed the Army tracked him down after seven years of retirement.

“You’d think if they can find me in my office, they sure could find Osama bin Laden,” he said.