Saw this in the Army Times (online) newspaper today: "The military is opening the door to many recruits it has not welcomed in the past. That includes people who are a bit older; who score lower on aptitude tests; and who have medical conditions such as asthma or attention deficit disorders that can be controlled better now with medicine." The Army, for example, raised the age limit from 35 to 42 to be eligible to enlist. Why were these steps taken?
Because it's becoming harder and harder to convince people to enlist in the military (all services). The Army Times article says, "Other job prospects are soaring and relatives of potential recruits increasingly are discouraging them from joining the armed services." More from the Times article, "The findings reflect the growing unpopularity of the wars, particularly among family members and other adults who exert influence over high school and college students considering the military as a place to serve their country, further their education or build a career."
The challenge the Army is going to be facing next year pertains to the planned increase of 30,000 Soldiers to its ranks. Will standards be lowered even more to meet recruiting goals? Will more and more people in basic combat training and advanced individual training be "recycled" time and again until they finally meet training objectives? If so, how will that effect unit leaders who will be the recipients of these individuals?
I don't think we'll ever see a return to the military DRAFT; but if there are valid reasons to do so, we may be seeing some of them starting to pop up now.
