Wednesday, February 17, 1999
Uncle Sam wants dropouts, too
Army may lower standard to fill ranks
BY PHILLIP PINA and PERRY BROTHERS
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A proposal by the Army secretary to recruit high school dropouts could make it easier for local recruiters struggling to enlist soldiers.
In Cincinnati, recruiters have fallen well below enlistment goals for several years. Nationally, Army Secretary Louis Caldera said Tuesday, the armed forces are developing a recruiting crisis. The Army is expected to fall 10,000 soldiers short this year.
That is why Mr. Caldera is proposing a pilot program for dropouts with general education development (GED) diplomas. The lack of interest in the armed forces among high school graduates is taking away the “luxury of being that selective,” Mr. Caldera said.
The falling number of recruits is blamed on a number of factors, from diminishing patriotism to increased competition from businesses, said Capt. Patrick Wisner, company commander in charge of Cincinnati metropolitan recruiting.
The Cincinnati office is ex pected to sign up two recruits per recruiter each month. In January, the office, which has 25 recruiters, signed 21 recruits.
The total Army (active and reserve) has dropped by 650,000 people since 1989. The active Army is down to 480,000, lowest in 50 years.
Lowering standards, though, is causing uneasiness.
Brian Lepley, spokesman for the Columbus Army Recruiting Battalion, which oversees the Cincinnati office, called Mr. Caldera's idea “shocking.”
“We expect our recruits to complete their education and complete basic training. We need smart people. The Army relies on highly technical equipment and machinery.”
Mr. Caldera's idea to enlist as many as 1,000 Army recruits with GEDs would change standards adopted five years ago.
Under Defense Department policy, 10 percent of new recruits are allowed to be high school dropouts who have passed the high school equivalency test and score well on armed services entrance exams. But the services set much higher standards in practice.
This includes information from Gannett News Service and the Washington Post.
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