Military gets picky in recruiting; only 20% of applicants qualify

[MADem]

.......They think anybody can enlist. Many see the military as a last resort in a tough job market — but always an option, the youth assume. Truth is, the class of 2014 now leaving high school will face more difficulty qualifying for the armed services than ever in the 40-year history of the all-volunteer force.

So Hoard tells them long before graduation day: Don’t ever get caught with a joint. Work out, shed weight. And be extra careful about getting tattooed.

“We’re turning down twice as many as before,” said Hoard....His office several years back needed to sign up 16 to 20 soldiers per month to meet recruiting targets. Now 10 or 12 will do.

.....The Air Force, Marine Corps and military Reserve and Guard units would shrink over the next several years, Wright said, though troop cuts are not expected to be as deep as in the Army, the largest recruiter of all.

What does this spell for America’s young adults, ages 17 to 24, already buffeted by 14 percent unemployment and ever soaring college costs?

“There will be fewer opportunities in military service, as there have been in the overall economy,” Byrd said.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2014/05/12/5019570/selective-uncle-sam-might-not.html#storylink=cpy

[LiberalFighter]

1. Still doesn't mean they are the best or the brightest.

There will always be some bad apples slipping through. Some more than others.

[MADem]

2. I suspect fewer of those apples will slip through.

They'll weight the psych questions on the ASVAB more heavily.

I also hear they are adding a psych component to the MEPS physical. Perhaps they'll add one sometime in the training pipeline, too, maybe near the midway point.

[LiberalFighter]

3. Too bad they can't weed out the current bad ones.

[MADem]

4. They are doing just that.

There's a big drawdown going on, they're kicking people out left and right.

[CRK7376]

5. Most of the Army kids

we are taking in today are heads and shoulders smarter than when I first enlisted in 1977. That said, this current generation loves to ask questions....why do I have to do this, that etc....they want more explanation and reasoning than I ever thought or expressed. I may have been thinking it, but I knew not to express it to my DS or company leadership. So yes we have very smart kids coming into the Army. You are required with a few exceptions/waivers to be a high school graduate. We have many college and some graduate school graduates enlisting all the time. I am currently serving at a Basic Training Post and every week we get young Soldiers in with college education. Our problem today versus when I first enlisted is that the kids for the most part are very smart, but the couch potato lifestyle has ruined them. Many can not make it to the basic fitness level of 50% for their age group just to graduate from Basic Training; compared to Advance Individual Training and Army standards of 60% in each event for a passing standard. Lots of young Soldiers are recycled or sent to a fitness training unit just to meet the minimul standard for Basic Training of passing the 3 event PT Test at 50% per event...

[MADem]

6. Recycled! I know it means "get put back" but doesn't it have a positive ring to it!

I heard that only one of four applicants comes even close to qualifying physically. That is a problem. On the bright side, obesity rates ARE declining as they take out the high fructose corn syrup, and some of the video games are a bit more interactive....plus, I think the shrinkage of computers to tablets and phones has allowed kids to break away from the desk/keyboard/mouse/screen paradigm and get up off their asses and go places, and still have their "toys" with them.

Of course, it's no accident that they're hard at work making battlefield exoskeletons--if they ever make that concept field-viable, it'll be a game changer.