At a presentation in the Pentagon to news reporters today, David Chu, Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel & Readiness, said in explaining how the military met recruiting objectives in 2007, "…waivers were given to recruits whose criminal pasts were limited. Most of the recruits exempted were let in because charges against them were dropped or they had been convicted of misdemeanors, not serious crimes. Of the 15 percent of recruits who needed a waiver last year, 87 percent were because of misdemeanor convictions."
If this is not lowering standards to meet objectives I don't know what is. I also do not understand how the Army is going to be able to expand its force by 50,000 as planned over the next several years, given the fact that fewer and fewer top rate people seem willing to voluntarily serve.
