WAR: Army to lower admission standards, page 1

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Topic started on 1-10-2004 @ 01:00 PM by Odd

The United States Army, its numbers stretched thin by wars on multiple fronts, has decided to lower its standards of admission to meet ever-increasing demands for infantry manpower. With a recruitment objective of 101,200 soldiers this year, the US Army has decided to allow some 2,000 prospective recruits into the rank and file by lowering educational requirement quotas.

www.nyt imes.com
WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 - To help meet its recruiting objectives at a time when its forces are strained by operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army's recruiting command has lowered some goals for recruits.

The changes are among the clearest signs yet of the military’s growing problems in recruiting and retaining soldiers. They mean that many hundreds of prospective recruits who were likely to have been rejected last year could now be enlisted this year.

Army recruiting officials characterize the changes as modest and reasonable adjustments in goals, and well within quality standards mandated by the Pentagon and Congress. But they amount to the first relaxation in Army recruiting standards since 1998, when a strong economy hurt military recruiting.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

Is this the first step toward a draft, or simply a prudent move by the brass in a time of dire need? With situations escalating in North Korea and Taiwan, I beleive that the defense of our nation needs to become as high a priority as possible, but how ready are we to defend ourselves here on our own soil? This is how the fall of Rome started out... let's just not forget the lessons history has taught us in situations like this.

[edit on 10/1/2004 by Odd]

reply posted on 1-10-2004 @ 02:05 PM by GradyPhilpott

I'm surprised they could go any lower. When I was in Vietnam, we used to joke that if we got back alive, our draft status would be such that they would have to take women and children before they could take us.

Well, they started taking women, what are they going to do next, start taking children?

reply posted on 2-10-2004 @ 07:25 PM by veritas93

I'm also a little surprised that it's even possible to lower the educational requirements for the army lol. I've had a bunch of buddies that served in the army... all of them were told that when the day for combat came... that they were to go find a bullet. Not joking at all. All of them were stationed in S. Korea at the time as well. How educated does one need to be to "go find a bullet"? I bet the guys in the Air Force, Navy and Marines don't get treated like that lol.

reply posted on 2-10-2004 @ 07:30 PM by taibunsuu

Right now the Army requires a GED or High School Diploma. If you can't manage to get that in this society you qualify to carry a rock as your ID card.

reply posted on 2-10-2004 @ 07:44 PM by Amorymeltzer

well, in theory, stupider soldiers are easier to order around, control. not easier to keep alive. id certainly hate to serve with 19 idiots.

we're doing well - low army enrollment
we're doing poor - low army enrollment

apparently people dont like going to fight!

GED=Good Enough Degree

reply posted on 2-10-2004 @ 10:15 PM by veritas93

Originally posted by Amorymeltzer
well, in theory, stupider soldiers are easier to order around, control. not easier to keep alive. id certainly hate to serve with 19 idiots.

we're doing well - low army enrollment
we're doing poor - low army enrollment

apparently people dont like going to fight!

GED=Good Enough Degree

Actually there are a large number of people in this country who are very violent and love to fight, however... most of them are in prison lol. I don't suppose that I need to actually write down what I'm thinking right now... I mean, how many folks do you think are on death row or have life sentences in this country?... lol.

reply posted on 2-10-2004 @ 10:40 PM by taibunsuu

Originally posted by Amorymeltzer

well, in theory, stupider soldiers are easier to order around, control. not easier to keep alive. id certainly hate to serve with 19 idiots.

we're doing well - low army enrollment
we're doing poor - low army enrollment

apparently people dont like going to fight!

GED=Good Enough Degree

Stupid soldiers aren't like forrest gump, stupid soldiers are overall way less quality troops. I mean if you can't manage to get a GED in this country, you are really pathetic. It's not that the army's about being ordered around, it has a lot to do with troops who are smart enough to see the benefit of a command structure and teamwork. And if you order a stupid person to do something, nine times out of ten they're going to # it up. Seriously, the army's going higher and higher tech, the last thing you want is retards playing with deadly weapons and machinery. Quantity / Quality always loses.

reply posted on 2-10-2004 @ 11:37 PM by veritas93

The dumb ones will only serve as a distraction, and their role will be only as rifle and artillery fodder. I find it hard to believe they'd put an idiot in charge of the more sophisticated equipment, but ya never know.

reply posted on 2-10-2004 @ 11:47 PM by Amorymeltzer

the stupid ones, to be blunt, will end up, as you said, being the front lines, the guys sent in to jsut shoot things. wed still have the trained skilled tactical boys doing our best work, and the really intelligent ones planning our strategy. it wud even free up some of the smarter ones for higher class work.

reply posted on 2-10-2004 @ 11:51 PM by GradyPhilpott