How much longer can the US military keep lowering its standards to meet quotas?

Right around the time I got out of the army, an NCO of mine and I were talking about this. She talked about how the military is letting in people they really should not be letting in just to get the bare minumum. You could get in before with a small criminal background, but now you can get with in with a larger one.





That's the problem. We have an all-volunteer military in an unpopular war. Not enough people are joining up. It's not just enlistment, but re-enlistment. People in are getting out because they've done multiple tours in Iraq, and they're sick of going and don't want to go back.





A lot of the bad stuff coming from troops in Iraq is from troops who before the Iraq War would not have been let in.





Can the US military really keep this up?|||The military entrance test does not yet include the phrase, "Would you like fries with that?" as a prequalification.











g-day!|||If what you say is true, then what is the problem?Times change, so it is imperative that we change with the time.|||If you and your NCO friend of yours had any real knowledge you would know that the recruiting numbers are being met. In fact the Air Force became even tougher on their entrance requirements because they constantly exceeded their goals and they are downsizing. So your information appears to be off.|||I saw a lot of troops enter with low "standards" that turned out to be some super soldiers. "Standards" are in the eye of the beholder. "Actions" to correct standards are what we look for. Sometimes you can turn a sows ear into a pretty damned good soldier. If not, out you go.|||How's this for low standards? Here's a true story.





I bought a house about a year ago, in a poor neighborhood. It needed a lot of work, so I was over there 7 days a week, fixing it up. Long story short, one of my neighbors was a 20 year old kid that was going into the Army. He had quit his job 3 months before going in, pretty much the day he had walked into the recruiter's office. He couldn't pay rent, so he, his wife and his 9 month old kid had moved in with his sister.





This guy was dumber than a bag of wet socks, with a personality to match. He was CONSTANTLY over at my place, pestering me. His wife worked and he was stuck taking care of the kid. I didn't realize this until about a week after I met him. He showed up with a kid in his arms, and informed me that the wife wouldn't let the kid stay home alone anymore.





"WHAT?" I said. "You've been coming over here to drink beer while your nine month old kid was home alone?"





"Yup. It's no big deal. He just sleeps all day anyway."





The kid picked this moment to start crying. Without missing a beat, this twenty year old reaches over and flicks his kid on the lips, hard. Did I mention that this kid is NINE MONTHS OLD? I stared at him, horrified. He smile back at me.





"Ya gotta teach 'em young,' he said. 'Otherwise, they'll cry for the rest of thier lives. You'll never get a lick of sleep with a kid cryin' all night.'





I didn't hang out with my young, Army-bound neighbor after that. The thought of him in Iraq, holding a gun in his hands, responsible for protecting his fellow soldiers and the Iraqi civilians sends a chill through my spine every time I think about it.|||The U.S. military is garbage. 'Nuff said.