The US Army has missed its recruiting benchmarks by an alarming margin:
- For the third consecutive year, the Army missed DoD benchmarks set for educational attainment and scores on the Armed Forces Qualification Test. (Important, because non HS grads drop out of service in their first term at a much higher rate)
- Scores on the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) continue to fall. 60.8% of the recuits scored average or higher, well below the Army’s now abandoned goal of 67%.
- Overall recruit quality, a figure derived largely from the above two factors, has fallen, with high quality recruits plummeting to 44.6%, down from 56.2% in 2007.
- Bonuses for reenlistments have skyrocketed in amount, and scope.
Heck of a job there, Rummie.