Army accepts more low-aptitude recruits

WASHINGTON – The Army met its recruiting goal for November by again accepting a high percentage of recruits who scored in the lowest category on the military’s aptitude tests, Pentagon officials said Thursday, raising renewed concerns that the quality of the all-volunteer force will suffer.

The Army exceeded its 5,600 recruit goal by 256 for November, while the Army Reserve brought in 1,454 recruits, exceeding its target by 112. To do so, they accepted a “double digit” percentage of recruits who scored between 16 and 30 out of a possible 99 on the military’s aptitude test, said officials who requested anonymity.

Last month, the Baltimore Sun reported that the Army reached its recruiting goals in October by accepting 12 percent from these low scorers, known as Category IV recruits. The Army may accept no more than 4 percent annually, according to Defense Department rules. While officials last month disclosed the percentage accepted in October, Thursday they refused to reveal the November figure.

“We are not giving out (aptitude test) categories during the course of the year,” said Douglas Smith, a spokesman for the Army Recruiting Command at Fort Knox, Ky.

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/news/nation/13421901.htm

Being rude and arrogant is not an aptitude measured by these tests.

Since we've lowered our standards for commander in chief into the sewer, why not just let everyone in?

why bother with the tests at all, they they wouldn't have to worry about keeping below 4 percent a year. Might as well do away the minimum/maximum age requirements while they're at it. Seems it's going to be the only way to reach their quotas. Anyone else feeling a draft?

It would be like Vietnam all over again.Had the Iraq war been a just,righteous and holy war, maybe. I feel
most Americans would reject any notions of serving in the military under these circumstances and all hell
would break loose inside America. jmho...

They'll have to MIHOP again to get people to accept it,
especially since they may need to start the draft before the mid-term elections.

Where enlisted and officer personnel who are not performing satisfactorily to remain in the Navy can apply for transition to the Army without losing time in service or paygrade. george bush is slowly ruining our military as his base stands on the sidelines, won't volunteer and waves their flags.

Lindy England, the subject of a Rolling Stones love song -"Dangerous Beauty" on their latest CD

who you got there in that hood
you look so fancy in those photographs
with the rubber gloves on your a favorite with the chiefs of staff
doing such a wonderful job
your'e a natural at working with dogs
keeping everyone awake at night with a touch of the prods
your a dangerous, dangerous, dangerous beauty
If I were your Captain would you salute me.

After almost 50 years, Mick and the Boys just keep on

Like the photo you posted of that bitch: You can just see the intelligence sparkle in her eyes, no?

Those photos really disturb me....

:hi:

...soon the dogs will be the ones holding the leash.

we will have to put them in the ground and water them twice a day. (visualize turnips)

When China moved to crush the protests in '89, the troops sent in were simpletons from the provinces...

A "double digit" percentage of low-aptitude recruits. 10%? 99%? How many folks are going into the military with such low test scores? What sort of headaches will these recruits cause in trying to keep them on the straight and narrow, discipline-wise? And how many will be insufficiently supervised and show up in the next round of Abu Ghraib-type photos and videos?

Either fight this fucking war or don't. This half-assed crap just means more innocent people get killed or fucked up. If this war isn't worth fighting, then end it. If it's worth fighting, then get serious about it, and let's get all the best and the brightest we can round up.

No, on second thought, this is just their war to be "patriotic" about, not to actually get involved in.

Do you want your son in a foxhole with some lunkhead who flunked out of high school? That puts lives at risk.

Back in the early 80's...I scored a 97...and I had heard you only needed a 16 to get in...my decision not to join was based on the fact that I'd have to take orders from 16's that had been there for years...

Yeah I scored a 97 my junior year of high school, back in '94-95 or so. I had the same thoughts about taking orders from people who scored low, as well as taking orders in general. I tended to have a problem with authority.

to get me to reenlist and I was sick of the incompetence.

They could not understand why I think the way I do. When I made SGT/E-5 in something like 33 months (it took some of these people seven or eight years), they wondered how in hell I could manage that. My NCOIC (one of the smarter ones), set them straight - because I went to night school, scored high on annual MOS qualification exams (we don't have those anymore - I bet they're back in a few years), and could run two miles three or four minutes faster than most of those bozos, many of whom went through a carton of Newports in two or three days. At 22, I was one of the youngest buck sergeants they've ever seen with a desk job.

So when this Iraq thing blows over, remember that. You can clean up when all your peers are idiots. After an unpopular war we really didn't have to fight, you can bet it will be a loooooooong time before we do it again.

It's not exactly a recent policy - and it's very telling.

89,000 bad paper discharges (DD, BCD, Undesirable etc.) from that bunch

They wouldn't follow orders and were generally useless except to consume oxygen

That's more people than were KIA in 'Nam.

will be able to join...:rofl:

But then when it comes to cannon fodder, anyone from the highest to lowest will do. Cannons don't discriminate.

Hekate

Is this how it worked in Vietnam? Someone could fail near 5/6th of the test?

Chimpy is a cat 4 prez.

...and answer all the questions by coin flip. I bet I get at least a 16.

question, then the average score for randomly choosing, is 20.

I know, I know...I'm an elitist!