VOA慢速英语2020--美军推迟撤离计划

Antonio Gozikowski was planning to leave the United States Army next month and go to college.

Gozikowski, an Army Sergeant¹, has served six years in the military. His goal in college was to expand his medical skills, become a dentist and then return to the Army in a few years. But the coronavirus health crisis is forcing universities to consider online classes or reduced schooling².

So, Gozikowski decided³ to sign up for a new Army program and extend his military service for six more months.

Concerns about future jobs or college classes are driving more U.S. military members to either remain in the armed forces or delay leaving. The weakened economic conditions make the job security, guaranteed pay and benefits of the military much more appealing.

Gozikowski said, "Everything from elementary schools to universities is closing down and there's no saying how it's going to go when the fall semester opens."

He told The Associated Press that the military provides work and guaranteed wages.

Gozikowski is one of hundreds of armed forces members who have accepted short-term extensions being offered by the military. As of last week, the Army had already passed its goal of keeping 50,000 soldiers for the fiscal⁴ year. More than 52,000 have signed up for the extensions. The Navy and other military services also have met or are closer than planned to their target numbers.

The large number of individuals choosing to stay in the armed forces will make up for any shortage in the number of new recruits resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. That will help the military meet its total required troop levels for the end of the year.

Army Sergeant Major Stuart Morgan provides career guidance to armed forces members. He says the Army's program lets members postpone⁵ their departure for up to 11 months. By early last week, he said, 745 soldiers had signed up.

"What we're seeing this year, which is directly related to COVID, is we do have a population of soldiers that what they were expecting at the end of transition has suddenly disappeared," Morgan said. "And now you have a soldier that is trying to go through a transition period that is now facing uncertainty⁶ on the outside."

The U.S. Air Force is already expecting to fall short of its recruiting goal by as much as 5,800 because of the virus. The Air Force said that shortfall could be filled by individuals who decide to extend their military service.

So far, the number of Air Force members who have asked to extend their service is 700 more than at this time last year.

Retention⁷ is also on the rise in the U.S. Marine⁸ Corps⁹.

Currently, there are about 183,000 Marines. The goal for the end of the fiscal year is about 184,600. The Marine Corps has nearly reached its retention goal of about 12,600 for the fiscal year.

I'm Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

benefits – n. something extra such as vacation time or health insurance that is given by an employer to workers in addition to their regular pay

dentist – n. a person whose job is to care for people's teeth

departure – n. the act of leaving a job, an organization, etc.

elementary – adj. relating to or teaching the basic subjects of education

fiscal – adj. of or relating to money and especially to the money a government, business, or organization earns, spends, and owes

recruit – n. a person who has recently joined the armed forces

retention – n. the act of keeping someone or something

semester – n. one of two usually 18-week periods that make up an academic year at a school or college

1 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

2 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

5 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

6 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

7 retention   

n.保留，保持，保持力，记忆力

参考例句：

• They advocate the retention of our nuclear power plants.他们主张保留我们的核电厂。
• His retention of energy at this hour is really surprising.人们惊叹他在这个时候还能保持如此旺盛的精力。

8 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

9 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。