Report: As war needs rise, recruit quality lowers
Above: Recruits help each other through a climbing obstacle during the 9-week basic combat training course at Fort Jackson.
WASHINGTON -- The percentage of high-quality recruits entering the Army is the lowest in 10 years, an indication that the force is struggling to attract top-grade enlistees -- and a troubling sign for the Pentagon, which is waging wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and plans to add 90,000 ground troops to its ranks within the next five years.
Over the past decade, the percentage of top-level recruits who enlisted in the Army was mostly consistent, dipping slightly at the end of the 1990s before spiking in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But since 2003 -- the same year the US invaded Iraq -- the Army has steadily taken in more recruits that the force itself considers "non-high quality."
Last year, nearly 40 percent of those who joined the Army had below-average verbal and math scores on the Armed Forces Qualification Test, a mandatory exam that helps the military determine a recruit's aptitude and mental proficiency. In 2003, the Army accepted only 28.9 percent of the low-scoring recruits, but that percentage gradually began to rise in subsequent years, according to Army statistics.
Read the rest at the Boston Globe
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WASHINGTON -- The percentage of high-quality recruits entering the Army is the lowest in 10 years, an indication that the force is struggling to attract top-grade enlistees -- and a troubling sign for the Pentagon, which is waging wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and plans to add 90,000 ground troops to its ranks within the next five years.
Over the past decade, the percentage of top-level recruits who enlisted in the Army was mostly consistent, dipping slightly at the end of the 1990s before spiking in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But since 2003 -- the same year the US invaded Iraq -- the Army has steadily taken in more recruits that the force itself considers "non-high quality."
Last year, nearly 40 percent of those who joined the Army had below-average verbal and math scores on the Armed Forces Qualification Test, a mandatory exam that helps the military determine a recruit's aptitude and mental proficiency. In 2003, the Army accepted only 28.9 percent of the low-scoring recruits, but that percentage gradually began to rise in subsequent years, according to Army statistics.
Read the rest at the Boston Globe
Related Link:
Army increases first-time enlistment bonuses to high of $25,000
Related Link:
New Army Reserve recruiting program shields some recruits from deployment up to 4 years
Related Link:
Report: Black enlistment falls dramatically -- 33% drop since 2003
Related Link:
Army looks to online gamers as recruiting pool
Related Link:
Casey: Army growth needed sooner than planned
Related Link:
Perspective: Stretched thin, Army turns to the Air Force to fill in
Related Link:
Opinion (Paul Rieckhoff): Breaking the Army
Related Link:
Report: West Point grads exiting service at high rate
Related Link:
Report: Army Reserve falters on recruitment as more troops go active
Related Link:
Most youth ineligible for Army, military survey says
Related Link:
Perspective: Recruits' fitness weighs on military
Related Link:
Report: $1 billion in enlistment bonuses paid last year
Related Link:
Survey: Almost 80% of Individual Ready Reserve officers saying no to deploying
Related Link:
Perspective: Officer shortage looming in Army
Related Link:
Army recruiting at 9-year high, secretary says
Related Link:
Most youth ineligible for Army, military survey says
Related Link:
Pentagon acts to crack down on recruiter misconduct
Related Link:
Report: Older recruits washing out at twice normal rate
Related Link:
Report: Bush to Expand Size of Military
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Perspective: Guard enlists younger help in its drive for recruits
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Perspective: Many reservists elevating family over re-enlistment
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Perspective: A U.S. military 'at its breaking point' considers foreign recruits
Related Link:
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