I was a navy recruiter in the late 80’s. Asvab scores range from 0 to 99. Anyone scoring 50 would be a pretty good candidate. Over 75 was super! Each person was categorized into categories. A “cat 4” was the lowest we could enlist and their scores were something like 28 to 40. We were limited on how many cat 4 we could enlist and they did not count as a full quota fill. I would enlist people scoring 50 or above all day every day even without a diploma or GED. Scoring 50 or above on the asvab is not like getting a 50 on some high school test. A 50 is the mean score meaning half score above that and half below that...so a 50 is average. The article is misleading in that regard. If they meet moral, medical and pass the reading test I see nothing wrong with enlisting these people.
Thank you.
I dropped out in ‘87 to work full time. Got my GED a couple years later. Went to boot camp in Dan Diego in ‘93 and served until ‘97 on the USS PELELIU.
Also a Navy Recruiter - 89/90 and you’re so right. In fact, It might IMO be a better sailor overall than a 31 RWL (If they didn’t use this term in your district it’s “Rock with Lips”) Over 50 is considered upper mental group. Seems like nothing has changed.