WAR: Army to lower admission standards

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.


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]

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?

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Originally posted by veritas93
The dumb ones will only serve as a distraction, and their role will be only as rifle and artillery fodder.

Even ground pounders need to be fairly smart these days to deal with the sophisticated weaponry and electronic equipment. Times have really changed and necessity to send wave after wave of troops to take territory just doesn't seem to exist anymore. The advanced weaponry of the Air Force and the Navy can soften up resistance to such a degree that smaller forces can do what used to take a division to accomplish.

Such days may return, but no one seems too eager to reinstitute a draft except a few Democrats such as Charley Rangle who is only rabble rousing with his efforts in the House.

www.nydailynews.com...

Some reasons soldiers in the US Army should have a GED:

Being educated / smart enough to...

Know when to listen to his leaders
Distinguish friend from foe, civilian from enemy
Be able to recognize environment
Operate GPS or do land nav in general. Can someone who can't accomplish a GED be trusted to orient the map, find the declination, plot a course, shoot an azimuth, recognize land marks from a map, etc.? Sure it's all basic math but it takes some intelligence to do.
Operate and maintain deadly weaponry
Accurately perform First Aid
Use MOPP gear
Stay awake on guard duty
Know when deadly force is authorized

Anyway, I guess we'll find out. Like Grady said it's not just 'there's the enemy, shoot, boy, shoot!'

Personally, I think they should sweeten the pot by making enlistment more rewarding, better post-enlistment education benefits, and better VA support. Quantity does not = quality.

[edit on 3-10-2004 by taibunsuu]

They need to lower the standard, because the draft is coming...
The army just wants more bullet sponges, people to soakup the incoming fire, so the smarter ones can take out the enemy when it runs out of bullets.