Army to train up recruits – to become recruits

| July 28, 2022

 

 

In a time when the Army in particular is having problems meeting its recruiting goals, one of the biggest reasons is that too many recruits just fail to meet minimum weight and educational standards. America’s obesity problem hits the younger folks, too, and while the popular perception of “bring ’em in, we’ll sweat it off ’em” isn’t accurate and hasn’t been for many, many years. Do we need to go into the train wreck our schools have become and the, shall we say, less than optimally educated socially promoted kids it spits out? One of the results is that the Army is looking at missing recruitment goals by 10% and fall 31,000 soldiers short of its ideal strength by year-end.

The Army sees no need to waste some of the kids on the bubble, and is establishing two courses to remedy them.

Applicants who score between 21 to 30 on the AFQT — placing them in the upper portion of the Category IV recruits, who can only make up 4% of each recruitment cohort — can participate in the academic improvement course to improve their score to Category IIIB. Applicants in that category who score between 42 to 49 can “voluntarily participate” to move up to Category IIIA and improve their job selections. Participants will retest every three weeks.

Potential recruits who enlist with 2% to 6% more body fat than the military standard for their gender and age can participate in the fitness course. Troops on this track will aim to lose 1 to 2% body fat per month, Fort Jackson post commander Brig. Gen. Patrick Michaelis told Army Times. Recruits can leave the prep course once they are within 2% of the military standard for their gender and age.

The participants will be at the course on delayed training contracts, and those who still do not meet standards will be cut via entry level separation, allowing them to rejoin in six months if they can meet standards. Recruits can only attend the preparatory course once and can only go to one of the courses — meaning if they fail both the body fat standards and the AFQT, they cannot enlist.

The programs are estimated to cost about $4 million over the next year, and the Army says it has already identified 2,000 recruits who may participate in one of the courses.

Military Times via Business Insider

This may address about 20% of the recruiting shortfall.

The service has scrambled in recent months to make whatever simpler changes to recruiting rules it can to help at the margins, including relaxing its tattoo policy, offering historically high enlistment bonuses of up to $50,000, and allowing recruits to pick their first duty station of choice, with limitations. The service also briefly allowed applicants to enlist without a high school diploma, but that effort was scrubbed after only a week due to backlash over a perceived lowering of standards.

Hat tip to Jeff LPH

Category: "Your Tax Dollars At Work", Army

32 Comments
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Anonymous

Awright, 14Ts can enlist with Cat IV ASVAB scores for a 4A+2B bonus again!

Claw

Sounds like step 1 in the quest to reach Biden’s 100,000.

Don’t sweat it, the Bob McNamara record is still intact./s

Andy11M

I only heard about McNamaras morons a few years ago. I don’t think this will be as bad, unless the instructors at these courses are mandated a graduation rate and they start pushing those turds out making them someone else’s problem.

Flakpup

Because the military has never pushed people based on quotas? I’ve met way too many E-1s that kill that narrative.

SFC D

I’ve met too many E-9’s that kill that narrative.

Anonymous

Koko, the gorilla who could speak to people via ASL, scored an 87 GT on the ASVAB. Cat IV, yes, but more than some troops.

Last edited 1 year ago by Anonymous
Sam

We only had one slow guy in my company. He must not have been as bad off as some, and he did okay as far as I know. I haven’t found his name on any list of the dead at any rate, though he could have been injured.

They said more than 10% in our MOS died, but I’ve never done the math: 
http://www.armyaircrews.com/huey_nam_69.html

Anonymous

Cat IV enlistees chew up 20% more resources of every kind to do they same thing as Cat I enlistees. With multi-million $ equipment, the property damage can be impressive.

SFC D

My PSG in 1989 was one of McNamara’s chosen 100,000. Stupidest human being I’ve ever met.

The Stranger

And he stuck around for 20+ years? I think it also says a lot about the Army in the post-Vietnam era.

Anonymous

If the dude retired as an SFC/E7 (no offense to SFC D) then I know his twin at my day job.

Last edited 1 year ago by Anonymous
SFC D

He did in fact retire as an E7 in 1990. And no offense was taken.

UpNorth

My PSG in ’67 was the model for the Chosen 100,000. Dumber than a rock, with apologies to rocks everywhere. The dumb son of a bitch had to be taught to breathe, every day.

Mick

“…unless the instructors at these courses are mandated a graduation rate and they start pushing those turds out making them someone else’s problem.”

Heh.

Please see the Naval Air Training Command in the years immediately following the Tailhook ’91 incident.

Last edited 1 year ago by Mick
Sapper3307

ASVAB wavers ++++ 2.0

Graybeard

Wonder if they’ll take me now?
7 decades isn’t that old.

ninja

From 2018:

“One-Third of Youths Too Obese for Military Service, Study Finds”

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/10/10/one-third-youths-too-obese-military-service-study-finds.html

From 2019:

“Meet the Retired Generals Working to End Childhood Obesity for a Fitter Force”

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/11/13/meet-retired-generals-working-end-childhood-obesity-fitter-force.html

Fyrfighter

“relaxing i’s tattoo policy”

Maybe if they “relaxed” their jab policy… (and not in the way that the post on the Wisconsin National Guard is suggesting)

KoB

Good Army Chow (and double rations of it) along with Good ARRRRMMEEE Training at The School of Hard Knox for Wayward Boys put 45 pounds on me during Basic in ’71. The same Good Army Chow (1/2 rations) and Training took 45 pounds off of my buddy.

Glad the Army has realized that being fat and stoopid is no way to go thru training (life).

The Stranger

But drunk is ok, right?🤣🍺🍺🍺🥃🥃🥃

KoB

Yep, as long as it’s Bud Lite…or power.

2banana

No one wants to join an army full of woked officers and trans confused folks.

Green Thumb

I am out.

Green Thumb

Do I get nine recycles in Ranger School as well?

rgr769

Anyone who wants nine recycles at Ranger School is truly a masochist. Back in my day, no one could tolerate more than two. As one of our combat vets quipped, “I’d rather do another combat tour in Vietnam, than redo any phase of Ranger School.”

MustangCryppie

I totally agree with that.

Now i’m NOT comparing my police academy training in any way to Ranger School, but…

…being on the street and mixing it up with bad guys was much less stressful than some instructor looking over my shoulder in a scenario.

rgr1480

Zero Dark Thirty:

“Okay Ranger, your patrol leader is dead and you are now the patrol leader. [Handing over a pine needle] — Now, show me exactly where we are on the map.”

(^____^)

rgr769

That was done to me just before we did the night cliff rappel and vehicle ambush.

SFC D

Shake a tree and look for the wiggle on the map.

Green Thumb

Had that exact same thing happen to me right before we exited the bird except it was “Ranger, your PL just fell out of the Blackhawk – your are the PL”.

Prior Service

It might just backfire. In 1986 I went from 135 to 147 in a matter of 15 weeks during infantry OSUT and airborne school….

Drake

Could be they are smarter than me and decided not to be that stinken fat guy like me who trolls people from his mother’s basement knowing full well that nobody would kick my ass for the things that I say.

Fixed to reflect how you come across to us.

-thebesig