Military Recruiting: Lowering Standards is Dangerous

Center for American Progress Senior Fellow (and former Air Force Colonel) PJ Crowley says the plan to increase active troops levels by 92,000 makes sense, but lowering the standards to permit dangerous individuals to wear the uniform is not.

What if our most powerful weapons were ideas?
www.AMERICANPROGRESS.org

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• recruiting
• military
• pentagon
• seeprogress
• iraq
• iran
• war
• afghanistan
• korea
• criminal
• gang
• drugs

[GhettoNerd88]

@DesertLaser Yeah, I thought it was easy to get in also, until I tried. If they weren't so thorough on their investigation on the enlisted hopeful, it wouldn't have taken 3 months to finally get the contract in front of me. And I wasn't even 18 at the time. 30% of those who want in are actually qualified. People are getting DQ'd right and left. I even know a guy who scored in the 93rd percentile who was deemed unfit because his shoulder blades stick 1/2 inch too far out.

[GhettoNerd88]

Actually, One has to be at least as smart as 35% of the society in order to make in the Army, the largest branch, who also wants to remain that way. Marines are quite similar for a lot of jobs. The Navy and Air Force however want people who are in the 60%+ range of society for their jobs. Me? I'm going Army. I scored better than 75% of people. And I've already been to college, thats when I learned a lot of the negative light shed on the military was in fact propaganda I had been soaking in.

[DesertLaser]

One must suck rather badly to not be accepted by the US military. They'll accept anyone, former gang members, white supremacists, drug users, and those with mental issues.

There are ZERO I.Q. requirements to enter US military.

Also, the rate of sexual assault against women is VERY high in US military.

The hypo-religiosity, the saturation of evangelicals in the US armed forces is something to be considered before enlisting. Go to college.

[WhiteShoesATL]

The era of the good willed GI died in Vietnam and has been replaced by Generation X. Even Condi Rice has alluded to this. The Iraqis n Afghans are telling it to the world. And we here in the States are blinded by patriotism, fireworks, false history, and Fox News. We do more harm than good... and playing globo cop has bankrupted the country and will eventually crash the dollar. The Afghan/Iraq wars are not wars of necessity but, our debt is what is goin to kill us. Even Bin Laden knows that

[Agent1W]

That's just standards for recruiting. The buck doesn't quite stop there. There's more standards you must meet for completing basic training and qualifying for apprentice-level of your MOS, and Journeyman-level after that.

Retention is a whole another ballgame. That's where you have to appease your superiors and game the system, but that's a discussion for another day.

[dcramer00]

@plasticine86 There is a set amount of money that the DOD gets to fund our military. Right now lots of people are trying to get in and few are getting out so we are running out of room for new recruits. So the DOD gets to be picky about who they let in and who gets to stay in. Some states have had to stop recruiting all together while some have put enlistment caps on how many each recruiting station can put in. Once they reach that number they have to stop.

[sonic619760]

@plasticine86 I know how it feels. I am going to be graduating from a continuation high school which is a tier 2, have to get 15 units

[junior1984able]

@plasticine86...i too try to enlist, with homestudy diploma,....got denied,...they told me i needed 15 units...u believe that shit......

[jujutsu987]

@plasticine86 I Totally agree! All these shitbags talking about These guys with backgrounds need to shut the fuck up! If these men & women want to help in the war efforts then what the fuck are they complaining about? My hats off to anyone who steps up to the plate to change their lives around!

[MrVicarious666]

i was denied i scored 78. im still waiting for the waiver to change to exceptable