thedrifter
10-18-06, 07:25 AM
Recruiting event has enthusiasm
October 18, 2006 12:50 am
By MELISSA NIX
Brothers Joshua and Matthew Gibson want to be model Marines. Joshua, 17, wears glasses and his blond hair close-cropped. Matthew, 16, has a smattering of freckles across his cheeks. His dark hair is buzzed short, just like Joshua's.
On Saturday morning, the two Spotsylvania County brothers joined more than 60 other area teens to try their luck on an obstacle course set up by the local Marine Corps recruiting station.
Some of those gathered looked like grown-ups. Others looked like they were just a few months past pre-teen. Many had already been recruited through an "early enlistment" program, which enables high schoolers to sign up for military service before graduating.
The enthusiasm they showed at 8 a.m. on a weekend was symbolic of the military's latest recruiting successes.
After a dismal year in 2005, all branches of the services made their recruiting goals for fiscal year 2006, which ended last month.
But while that news might suggest all is well, some are worried that the most powerful military in the world is compromising its quality to fill the ranks.
After a round of calisthenics, the teens lined up ramrod straight in the parking lot near the station, which is located off State Route 3. Most wore red T-shirts proclaiming MARINES.
"Are you ready for my crucible?" barked Gunnery Sgt. Jason Marshall, commander for recruiting substation Fredericksburg.
Jane Tucker, Joshua and Matthew's mother, stood nearby.
Joshua has already early enlisted with the Marines as a linguist, she said.
He starts boot camp in August, a few months after high school graduation. Matthew is too young to enlist, but is planning to do so as soon as he turns 17, she said.
Tucker talked about the likelihood of her eldest son going to Iraq.
"When Gunny Sgt. Lopez came to sign Joshua up, Joshua's little sister started crying, 'Don't take my brother! Don't send him over there. There's bombs over there!'" she said. "It hit me real hard. But I know he's going over there to train and to protect us, so we can live free and safe over here.
"Right?" she said to Joshua's sister, 9-year-old Briana, who twirled in the grass nearby.
Tucker's sons are smart. They scored well on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery exam (ASVAB). And they're joining the Marine Corps, a branch of the armed forces that usually has an easy time meeting its recruiting quotas.
But some would argue Joshua and Matthew are the exception these days.
Critics are questioning the methods the military used to meet its recruiting goals this year.
"They're meeting their numbers in the short term, but doing it in a way that doesn't bode well for the future," said Peter Singer, a senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution, an independent research and policy institute.
"They're lowering their requirements and taking in a greater number of people who would not have made the cut previously," such as CAT IVs, Singer said.
CAT IVs are potential enlistees who have earned the lowest scores on the aptitude test.
"Studies show that CAT IVs don't make as good a soldier," said Singer. They have a harder time shooting straight and succeeding at complicated tasks, he said.
"These are the folks who tend to get into more trouble, as well," he said. "Pvt. Steven Green is the best example."
Green, along with four other soldiers, is in federal prison for allegedly raping and killing a 14-year old Iraqi girl as well as three of her family members. He was a high school dropout with behavioral problems and run-ins with law enforcement before he enlisted in the Army.
"This is a kid who would've washed out in the past under the old standards. That raises some concerns."
Singer said "the wash out" rate for basic training in 2005 was 18.1 percent. In 2006, it dropped to 7.6 percent. That means roughly 10 percent of people who would have washed out before are now in the military, he said.
"The Army also doubled the numbers of non-high school graduates it took this year," he said.
And the military isn't just lowering standards, he said.
"They're dumping an enormous amount of resources and manpower into recruiting. They're making a greater effort, lowering standards and they're still just eking it out."
Marshall, the local Marine Corps recruiting station commander, said his branch is as exclusive as it's always been.
"We haven't lowered our ASVAB standards or increased our age limit to foster numbers like the Army has," he said, as eager teens ran through obstacle course stations around him. "We don't sell technical skills or college funds--we sell the opportunity to be a Marine."
However, he did admit concern about the overall quality of the military.
"The lowering of standards is going to lead to a long-term problem in terms of leadership and understanding the mission," he said. "If you got someone who scored a 21 on the ASVAB, how can he understand our technical manuals or the mission from the commander? We don't write it in fifth-grade English."
Eugene White, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who served for 24 years, including two tours as a platoon leader in Vietnam, said he was concerned with the number of medical and criminal waivers being issued for enlistees.
"When you talk about people who are obese or have criminal records from my perspective as a platoon leader, they require a higher degree of care and maintenance," said White, who now works as a military analyst for a private corporation.
He's less concerned about soldiers who don't have a high school diploma.
"I've met a lot of soldiers with GEDs who are better trained than high school grads," he said.
But, "if you talk about lowering standards [to make quotas], my question is this: Why aren't more Americans offering to serve their country?" White asked.
To reach MELISSA NIX: 540/374-5418
Email: mnix@freelancestar.com
Ellie
video
http://fredericksburg.com/News/Web/2006/102006/crucible
Seventy-five Marine recruits got a taste of what to expect at boot camp. They endured a series of physical, mental and team-oriented tasks Saturday at the Spotsylvania Recruitment Center off State Route 3.
October 18, 2006 12:50 am
By MELISSA NIX
Brothers Joshua and Matthew Gibson want to be model Marines. Joshua, 17, wears glasses and his blond hair close-cropped. Matthew, 16, has a smattering of freckles across his cheeks. His dark hair is buzzed short, just like Joshua's.
On Saturday morning, the two Spotsylvania County brothers joined more than 60 other area teens to try their luck on an obstacle course set up by the local Marine Corps recruiting station.
Some of those gathered looked like grown-ups. Others looked like they were just a few months past pre-teen. Many had already been recruited through an "early enlistment" program, which enables high schoolers to sign up for military service before graduating.
The enthusiasm they showed at 8 a.m. on a weekend was symbolic of the military's latest recruiting successes.
After a dismal year in 2005, all branches of the services made their recruiting goals for fiscal year 2006, which ended last month.
But while that news might suggest all is well, some are worried that the most powerful military in the world is compromising its quality to fill the ranks.
After a round of calisthenics, the teens lined up ramrod straight in the parking lot near the station, which is located off State Route 3. Most wore red T-shirts proclaiming MARINES.
"Are you ready for my crucible?" barked Gunnery Sgt. Jason Marshall, commander for recruiting substation Fredericksburg.
Jane Tucker, Joshua and Matthew's mother, stood nearby.
Joshua has already early enlisted with the Marines as a linguist, she said.
He starts boot camp in August, a few months after high school graduation. Matthew is too young to enlist, but is planning to do so as soon as he turns 17, she said.
Tucker talked about the likelihood of her eldest son going to Iraq.
"When Gunny Sgt. Lopez came to sign Joshua up, Joshua's little sister started crying, 'Don't take my brother! Don't send him over there. There's bombs over there!'" she said. "It hit me real hard. But I know he's going over there to train and to protect us, so we can live free and safe over here.
"Right?" she said to Joshua's sister, 9-year-old Briana, who twirled in the grass nearby.
Tucker's sons are smart. They scored well on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery exam (ASVAB). And they're joining the Marine Corps, a branch of the armed forces that usually has an easy time meeting its recruiting quotas.
But some would argue Joshua and Matthew are the exception these days.
Critics are questioning the methods the military used to meet its recruiting goals this year.
"They're meeting their numbers in the short term, but doing it in a way that doesn't bode well for the future," said Peter Singer, a senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution, an independent research and policy institute.
"They're lowering their requirements and taking in a greater number of people who would not have made the cut previously," such as CAT IVs, Singer said.
CAT IVs are potential enlistees who have earned the lowest scores on the aptitude test.
"Studies show that CAT IVs don't make as good a soldier," said Singer. They have a harder time shooting straight and succeeding at complicated tasks, he said.
"These are the folks who tend to get into more trouble, as well," he said. "Pvt. Steven Green is the best example."
Green, along with four other soldiers, is in federal prison for allegedly raping and killing a 14-year old Iraqi girl as well as three of her family members. He was a high school dropout with behavioral problems and run-ins with law enforcement before he enlisted in the Army.
"This is a kid who would've washed out in the past under the old standards. That raises some concerns."
Singer said "the wash out" rate for basic training in 2005 was 18.1 percent. In 2006, it dropped to 7.6 percent. That means roughly 10 percent of people who would have washed out before are now in the military, he said.
"The Army also doubled the numbers of non-high school graduates it took this year," he said.
And the military isn't just lowering standards, he said.
"They're dumping an enormous amount of resources and manpower into recruiting. They're making a greater effort, lowering standards and they're still just eking it out."
Marshall, the local Marine Corps recruiting station commander, said his branch is as exclusive as it's always been.
"We haven't lowered our ASVAB standards or increased our age limit to foster numbers like the Army has," he said, as eager teens ran through obstacle course stations around him. "We don't sell technical skills or college funds--we sell the opportunity to be a Marine."
However, he did admit concern about the overall quality of the military.
"The lowering of standards is going to lead to a long-term problem in terms of leadership and understanding the mission," he said. "If you got someone who scored a 21 on the ASVAB, how can he understand our technical manuals or the mission from the commander? We don't write it in fifth-grade English."
Eugene White, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who served for 24 years, including two tours as a platoon leader in Vietnam, said he was concerned with the number of medical and criminal waivers being issued for enlistees.
"When you talk about people who are obese or have criminal records from my perspective as a platoon leader, they require a higher degree of care and maintenance," said White, who now works as a military analyst for a private corporation.
He's less concerned about soldiers who don't have a high school diploma.
"I've met a lot of soldiers with GEDs who are better trained than high school grads," he said.
But, "if you talk about lowering standards [to make quotas], my question is this: Why aren't more Americans offering to serve their country?" White asked.
To reach MELISSA NIX: 540/374-5418
Email: mnix@freelancestar.com
Ellie
video
http://fredericksburg.com/News/Web/2006/102006/crucible
Seventy-five Marine recruits got a taste of what to expect at boot camp. They endured a series of physical, mental and team-oriented tasks Saturday at the Spotsylvania Recruitment Center off State Route 3.