Army misses diploma goal for recruits

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Army misses diploma goal for recruits
By Bryan Bender
Globe Staff / October 20, 2008

WASHINGTON - For the third year in a row, the Army fell significantly short of its goal for recruiting high school graduates. It was the latest sign that the military's largest branch is lowering education standards to meet quotas, possibly at the expense of the long-term health of the force.

In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, fewer than 83 percent of new active-duty soldiers were high school graduates, according to Army statistics provided to the Globe.

The share was slightly higher than last year - leading some officials to say they have stemmed the drop - but still far below the Army's stated goal of having more than 90 percent earn their diplomas before joining the ranks.

In another worrisome trend, the percentage of active-duty recruits who scored in the bottom category on the Army's entrance exam remained among the highest of the decade, according to the figures compiled by the Army Recruiting Command at Fort Knox in Kentucky.

The eroding standards come as the Army attempts to increase its ranks by 74,200 soldiers by 2012, through a combination of stepped-up recruiting and persuading greater numbers of current soldiers to reenlist.


Rest of article at: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2008/10/20/army_misses_diploma_goal_for_recruits/