Report: Fewer high school grads recruited

Report: Fewer high school grads recruited
By Kimberly Hefling - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jan 22, 2008 18:52:18 EST

The percentage of Army recruits with a high school diploma dropped last year, continuing a trend that has worsened since the start of the Iraq war, according to a report released Tuesday.

National Priorities Project, a research group that analyzes federal data, found that nearly 71 percent of Army recruits graduated from high school in the 2007 budget year. It based its findings on data it obtained from the Defense Department through a Freedom of Information Act request.

All troops must have a high school diploma or an equivalent degree. The military prefers that they have a high school diploma because its studies have shown they are more likely to finish an enlistment term. Still, the Army has paid for some recruits to take General Educational Development preparation classes and take the test.

The Army’s goal is 90 percent high school graduates, which it hasn’t met since 2004. Each year since, the number of recruits with at least a high school diploma has steadily declined.

Douglas Smith, spokesman for the Army Recruiting Command at Fort Knox, Ky., acknowledged it has been a difficult recruiting environment. He said overall high school graduation rates are declining, which could be a factor.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/01/ap_recruitinggrads_080122/

My Dad quit school at 17 and joined the Army. Got his GED while there.

I don't see a problem with high school dropouts in the Army. I do, however, have a problem with the acceptance of felons.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/10/01/ING42LCIGK1.DTL