The Price of Lies, II 0
‘Nuff said:
The Army is taking increasing numbers of applicants it once judged substandard.
The percentage of recruits once rejected – and now accepted – on account of criminal convictions, drug use or medical conditions rose to 15 percent in fiscal 2005 from 10 percent in 2001, service statistics show.
The Army also is taking more recruits from a pool it judges least-qualified, based on education and scores on a cognitive aptitude test. Army Secretary Francis Harvey said up to 2,873 of these applicants would be taken this year, 16 percent more than the 2,476 in fiscal 2005 and an increase of 131 percent over the 1,245 taken in 2001.
The practice runs counter to the Pentagon’s plan to increase its numbers of Special Forces, skilled technicians and linguists – soldiers able not only to defeat an enemy but also to stabilize conquered nations through cultural awareness and street-level diplomacy.
