WASHINGTON - Faced with a persistent demand for personnel in Iraq and elsewhere, the Army and some of the military's elite commando units have dramatically increased the size and the number of cash bonuses they are paying to lure recruits and keep experienced troops in uniform. Last month, the Pentagon said it would begin offering bonuses of up to $150,000 for long-serving Army, Air Force and Navy special operations troops who agree to stay in the military for up to six more years. The bonuses are the largest ever paid to enlisted troops.

WASHINGTON - To the daily drumbeat of casualty reports from Iraq, young blacks and women are marching away from offers to join the Army.  These trends, combined with the negative effects of the Army's image as a last-resort career choice for what one study called the "average Joe," suggests the military's largest service may be entering a prolonged recruiting slump at a time when it is trying to expand its ranks.