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Military Forced to Get Picky in Recruiting
Kansas City Star ^ | May 13, 2014 | Rick Montgomery

Posted on 10/04/2014 4:19:33 PM PDT by lbryce

Army Sgt. 1st Class Terrence Hoard must reach potential recruits early to set them straight. They think anybody can enlist. Many see the military as a last resort in a tough job market -- but always an option, the youth assume. Truth is, the class of 2014 now leaving high school will face more difficulty qualifying for the armed services than ever in the 40-year history of the all-volunteer force.

So Hoard tells them long before graduation day: Don't ever get caught with a joint. Work out, shed weight.

And be extra careful about getting tattooed. "We're turning down twice as many as before," said Hoard, who supervises the Army recruiting station in Grandview.

His office several years back needed to sign up 16 to 20 soldiers per month to meet recruiting targets. Now 10 or 12 will do.

Last week, a dozen fresh recruits and wannabe warriors showed up for pushups and jumping jacks. Among them: Kyle Bayard of Drexel, Mo., whose lifelong dream of serving was held up for a year because he had been prescribed attention deficit medicine in high school. Mauricio Lonza maintained a B average in high school and through a couple of years at Kansas State University. But three times he failed the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery before he got a passing score.

"Math was never my category," said Lonza, 21.

(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: military
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Should Congress stick with defense funding caps enacted in December as part of a federal sequestration agreement, the Army over the next two years could shrink toward an active duty force of about 440,000, its smallest since before World War II.

The seeds of future wars are being planted right here before your very eyes.

Non-Citizens Can Join the Army
About.com:US Non-Citizens Can Join the Army

1 posted on 10/04/2014 4:19:33 PM PDT by lbryce
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To: lbryce

Forced? Like being selective is a bad thing? Oh, I know the force size is an issue and strongly oppose downsizing the force. But even if we were rebuilding, don’t we want the best, the most qualified candidates?


2 posted on 10/04/2014 4:23:48 PM PDT by NonValueAdded ("Kerry, as Obama's plenipotentiary, is a paradox - the physical presence of a geopolitical absence")
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To: NonValueAdded

I actually was going to address that very same thing. The article clearly states that the recruiters are being “forced” by the military to seek higher standards.


3 posted on 10/04/2014 4:26:27 PM PDT by lbryce (Barack Obama:Misbegotten, Bastard Offspring of Satan and Medusa.)
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To: lbryce

Bravo Sierra! Math was never my subject and I got a 128 GT score on the ASVAB in 9th grade.


4 posted on 10/04/2014 4:26:35 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me.)
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To: lbryce

Bet “some” people get recruited even though they couldn’t pass the tests and backgrounds.

You know, to keep the force DIEverse.


5 posted on 10/04/2014 4:29:20 PM PDT by Molon Labbie (Prep. Now. Live Healthy, take your Shooting Iron daily.)
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To: lbryce

Will the DREAMERS be held to the same standards?


6 posted on 10/04/2014 4:29:44 PM PDT by Lurkina.n.Learnin (It's a shame nobama truly doesn't care about any of this. Our country, our future, he doesn't care)
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To: lbryce

I had no interest in school. When I turned 17 I enlisted in the Army, and then dropped out of High School.

I think they knew something I did not know (Viet Nam).

I was more mature when I got out, went back to night school, got my HS diploma, then used GI Bill to go to college.

Not saying it is right for everyone, but it worked out for me.


7 posted on 10/04/2014 4:31:51 PM PDT by CIB-173RDABN (I do not doubt that our climate changes. I only doubt that anything man does has any effect.)
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To: Lurkina.n.Learnin

I’d bet these lower numbers are INTENDED to leave open slots for dreamers.


8 posted on 10/04/2014 4:35:59 PM PDT by Tucker39 (Welcome to America! Now speak English; and keep to the right....In driving, in Faith, and politics.)
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To: lbryce

Gangland - Basic Training (Gangs in the military)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDdZZizeWdQ

The FBI Announces Gangs Have Infiltrated Every Branch Of The Military
“The FBI has released a new gang assessment announcing that there are 1.4 million gang members in the US, a 40 percent increase since 2009, and that many of these members are getting inside the military...”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2796474/posts


9 posted on 10/04/2014 4:38:23 PM PDT by donna (Pray for revival.)
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To: lbryce

Turning down twice as many?

Middle eastern and central american mostly?


10 posted on 10/04/2014 4:42:38 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi - Revolution is a'brewin!!!)
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To: lbryce

With all the degenerates they ARE taking, good luck meeting their quotas.


11 posted on 10/04/2014 4:48:55 PM PDT by rockrr (Everything is different now...)
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To: lbryce
I joined the Army in 1972 as a 17 year old HS drop out. I was a "CAT 4", which my recruiter got zero credit for.

Once I "got my head out" and found leaders to emulate I rose to the rank of First Sergeant and was enrolled in the Sergeants Major Academy when I decided to retire.

Just like in life, scores and stats aren't always the last word.

12 posted on 10/04/2014 4:56:27 PM PDT by Feckless (I was trained by the US << This Tagline Censored by FR >> ain't that irOnic?)
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To: lbryce

Truthfully, what the US military really needs right now is something quite simple to set up. A compound to get potential enlistees into shape.

A one month program if they just need a physical or weight “tune up”. Three months if they need a lot of diet and work. And six months if they are in poor condition but have a very desirable skill.

Each day and every day they are fed individual diets, exercised a lot, and given remedial classroom for any educational deficits. It doesn’t even matter what branch of service they are hoping to join.

Nothing about this set up is particularly expensive. Cheap, old style wooden barracks. Mess halls with food ration cards for just them as individuals. They wear their own clothing. They do their own laundry. During ‘admin’ time they keep the place clean and tidy.

They are given a personalized schedule that they must meet. If they fail to do so they are washed out, and lose their chance to enlist.

The best part is that it is run by a private company, who gets paid a base rate and commission for every recruit they get up to snuff.

Importantly, this raises the bar for recruits, so they don’t need remedial work at basic training. Many with physical and psychological problems will also get weeded out early. It actually saves money in the long run.


13 posted on 10/04/2014 4:57:18 PM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy ("Don't compare me to the almighty, compare me to the alternative." -Obama, 09-24-11)
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To: lbryce

there are two economic causes:

1. Shrinking defense budgets.

2. Fewer jobs, ergo more men flee the private sector.

taken together this means the military can be much much 20 and there are several tools commonly used to eliminate candidates:

Legal record
Tattoos
Bodyfat
Intelligence
Psychology

essentially this is Obola’s fault.


14 posted on 10/04/2014 4:58:24 PM PDT by gaijin
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To: lbryce

They need to hold the line on math. Meade would never have won at Gettysburg if they had let men who flunked calculus into the Union army.


15 posted on 10/04/2014 4:59:30 PM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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To: lbryce; blueyon; KitJ; T Minus Four; xzins; CMS; The Sailor; ab01; txradioguy; Jet Jaguar; ...

Active Duty ping.


16 posted on 10/04/2014 5:01:33 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar (Resist in place.)
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To: lbryce
But three times he failed the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery before he got a passing score.

I know it depends on what job you're going for, but how dumb do you have to be? ASVAB math, unless it's changed significantly over the past decade or so, is barely above arithmetic.

17 posted on 10/04/2014 5:09:37 PM PDT by Future Snake Eater (CrossFit.com)
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To: Lurkina.n.Learnin

They probably have quotas for illegals, gays and transgenders now.


18 posted on 10/04/2014 5:11:27 PM PDT by smokingfrog ( sleep with one eye open (<o> ---)
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To: yefragetuwrabrumuy

.........great idea! I’m 95% with you. The five things I would add are I think they need travel paid, minimum wage, and a uniform like bluejeans and a dungaree shirt and tennis shoes.

Plus, I think that like the Seals, if they want to quit, they walk over and ring the bell. The one thing I would do differently with these people is that after they ring the bell there is a 24 hour hold for counseling. I say this because these kind of folks are just not going to be as highly motivated as Seal candidates and ought to be counseled before they take such a big, life changing step.


19 posted on 10/04/2014 5:18:22 PM PDT by Cen-Tejas (it's the debt bomb stupid!)
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To: lbryce

Illegal aliens and transsexuals will go to the front of the line.


20 posted on 10/04/2014 5:26:46 PM PDT by P-Marlowe (Saying that ISIL is not Islamic is like saying Obama is not an Idiot.)
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