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Who serves in the active-duty ranks of the U.S. all-volunteer military? Conventional wisdom holds that military service disproportionately attracts minorities and men and women from disadvantaged backgrounds. Many believe that troops enlist because they have few options, not because they want to serve their country. Others believe that the war in Iraq has forced the military to lower its recruiting standards.
Previous Heritage Foundation studies that examined the backgrounds of enlisted personnel refute this interpretation.[1] This report expands on those studies by using an improved methodology to study the demographic characteristics of newly commissioned officers and personnel who enlisted in 2006 and 2007.
Who serves in the active-duty ranks of the U.S. all-volunteer military? Conventional wisdom holds that military service disproportionately attracts minorities and men and women from disadvantaged backgrounds. Many believe that troops enlist because they have few options, not because they want to serve their country. Others believe that the war in Iraq has forced the military to lower its recruiting standards.
Previous Heritage Foundation studies that examined the backgrounds of enlisted personnel refute this interpretation.[1] This report expands on those studies by using an improved methodology to study the demographic characteristics of newly commissioned officers and personnel who enlisted in 2006 and 2007.
I believe I can chime in on this because I recently looked into applying and spoken with a few recruiters. I would be one of those that didn't want to do it to serve my country, but for safety of my family. I absolutely cannot afford to be laid off anymore. The recruiting standards have not lowered, but a little harder. They are specific on weight, have to be over or under a specific point, will not take tier 5 scores, specific on age, specific on medical and past criminal background. I hear becoming an officer is extremely hard now.
Both vets I've spoken to of the 80s and 90s were surprised by the weight and age requirement. I can't deny that I am still thinking about it, but the wife does not want this direction, but we are running out of time because of my age.
I believe I can chime in on this because I recently looked into applying and spoken with a few recruiters. I would be one of those that didn't want to do it to serve my country, but for safety of my family. I absolutely cannot afford to be laid off anymore. The recruiting standards have not lowered, but a little harder. They are specific on weight, have to be over or under a specific point, will not take tier 5 scores, specific on age, specific on medical and past criminal background. I hear becoming an officer is extremely hard now.
Both vets I've spoken to of the 80s and 90s were surprised by the weight and age requirement. I can't deny that I am still thinking about it, but the wife does not want this direction, but we are running out of time because of my age.
It's not a bad deal in the financial sense, because they will help you with collage later on. If you join now, and then go to collage, the economy will have changed by the time you are ready.
Folks, for those of you who are looking into the military as an option, just be sure you realize what you're getting into. Yes the benefits are there, but you need to realize that, at least for a period of time, your life will not be yours. And you will need to realize that combat may become a part of your service. Think hard, and make sure the decision is right for you.
That's an interesting article, and if true, I'm glad to see the overall quality of recruits at a high level. I have just two comments.
1. I was attached to a combat training brigade at lovely Ft. Jackson, SC in the early '70s when the military draft ended and the first all-volunteer recruits were arriving. The first group ... I'm sorry, but there were guys who were dumber than a box of rocks. They learned, but it wasn't pretty.
The Army last month stopped accepting felons and recent drug abusers into its ranks as the nation's economic downturn helped its recruiting, allowing it to reverse a decline in recruiting standards that had alarmed some officers.
While shunning those with criminal backgrounds, the Army is also attracting better-educated recruits. It is on track this year to meet, for the first time since 2004, the Pentagon's goal of ensuring that 90 percent of recruits have high school diplomas.
The developments mark a welcome turnaround for the Army, which has the military's biggest annual recruiting quota and had in recent years issued more waivers for recruits with criminal records. That, coupled with unprecedented strains from repeated deployments, led some senior officers to voice concerns that wartime pressures threatened to break the all-volunteer force.
It's not a bad deal in the financial sense, because they will help you with collage later on. If you join now, and then go to collage, the economy will have changed by the time you are ready.
That's the thing though, news outlets and people were saying this back in 2006. I went to college and nothing changed. I didn't go to college for music industry, but for IT. I don't want to go off-topic, but the field training these colleges and boot camps provide didn't get me "ready" for anything but debt.
I can either never see my family by sacrificing my life to a thankless country or chance the private sector and be apart of another massive offshore to India.
Folks, for those of you who are looking into the military as an option, just be sure you realize what you're getting into. Yes the benefits are there, but you need to realize that, at least for a period of time, your life will not be yours. And you will need to realize that combat may become a part of your service. Think hard, and make sure the decision is right for you.
Yep.
I spent 8 years in the Army.
Didn't realize at the time (few do) but I signed up to be killed or maimed because politicians can't get along. It would be different if we fought wars that actually protected us.
Somehow I don't think Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, etc. were a threat to the United States, but that's just me.
Fortunately, I was never hurt.
In case anyone wonders, I didn't die either.
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