although the military has not increased significantly since Obama took the reins, there were major increases in the previous years.
The army, for example, can now take felonies. The Army admitted about one-fourth more recruits last year with a record of legal problems ranging from felony convictions and serious misdemeanors to drug crimes and traffic offenses.
Pentagon officials acknowledged that the requirement to recruit more troops—part of an effort to expand the Army and Marine Corps by tens of thousands by 2011—coupled with declining interest in military service in part caused by the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, has led to accepting more recruits with criminal backgrounds.
Waivers granted for felonies and other crimes constitute the majority of all waivers—about 60 percent for the Army, and 75 percent for the Marine Corps. But other exceptions are also increasing, suggesting that the Army and Marine Corps are bringing in lower-quality recruits, according to Pentagon data and experts.
Army and Marine Corps waivers for medical problems—such as being overweight—increased last year. Medical waivers constituted about 30 percent of all Army waivers last year and 25 percent of those for the Marine Corps. Also, in recent years the Army has been accepting more recruits who are not high school graduates.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/21/AR2008042103295_pf.html
seriously, unless you are long unemployed, why would anyone want to enlist? There is a stop loss order in effect. Therefore, even if you signed up for a 3 year stint, you can not get out when your contract is up. Men are going back for their 4th, 5th and yes, even 6th tours of duty. This is something that did not happen during the Vietnam years.