Reply #19: The same, the Military want High School Graduates from conventional High Schools [View All]

The Military view came out of the Army Recruiter Scandals of the mid to late 1970s. With the end of the draft, the Army had a problem getting recruits that would also pass the Army Battery test. To get around this a number of Recruiters took the Army Battery tests for their recruits so the Recruits could pass the test. The army found out about this and after a whole lot of Court Martial (Of the recruiters NOT the Recruits) found out a good number of these Recruits did fulfill their military contract, while others did not. To see why the difference a study of done on these recruits. How well the recruits did in School, intelligence, age, having children and even criminal background did not explain the difference between why some of these recruits fulfilled their Military Contracts while others did not. The one factor that was found to be a factor was whether the Recruit finished High School. NOT how while the recruit did in High School, but if the recruit finished high school.

As one person who reported on the Study commented, if the Recruit could put up with the bullshit in high school, they can put up with the bullshit in the Military. Civilian employees also record a similar situation i.e. people who stay on the job tend to have graduated High School, those the do NOT stay on the job tended to have NOT finished High School.

Subsequent studies have continued to show this difference and thus the Military wants High School Graduates, Now earlier studies had NOT shown this characteristics, but those were done in the 1940s about the time when the majority of recruits started to join the army AFTER finishing High School. Prior to the 1930s that was NOT the situation, High School was NOT for most people, and thus most people did NOT go to high School prior to the 1940s (One of the differences between the WWI and WWII Armies was the WWI armies were majority NON-High School Graduates, while the Majority of WWII Recruits were High School Graduates). Since the US had the Draft from the late 1940s to 1972, the issue of High School and non-high School graduates had never come up. In the 1970s with the switch to the All Volunteer army the issue came up and was found to be a big factor in the issue of a recruit finishing the Recruits enlistment contract.

The same for all the other alternatives to High School, people opt for them for they can NOT or do NOT WANT to handle the bullshit that occurs in High School. The problem is that Bullshit occurs in real life i.e. in the Military and the work place. Thus the Military do NOT want non high school graduates, will tolerate up to 10% if the military can NOT get anyone else. Under Clinton, before the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, if I remember right, was down to 2-3% of all recruits being non High School Graduates. Under Bush II, it went up to the 10% limit do to the drop in African American enlistments. The 10% is an internal rule and can be waived if the Military can NOT get the number of High School Grads to enlist. So far the Military has only had to increase it to 10%, but how long is that going to last? No one knows.