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thedrifter
05-30-07, 07:14 PM
Tougher Standards, Tougher Recruiting Requirements
NRO ^ | 5/3/07 | W. Thomas Smith Jr.

Just spoke with some of my Marine buddies down at Parris Island, S.C. (I'll be there in a few weeks) and then a quick phone call to Quantico, Virginia.

You'll recall we discussed the new far-tougher ethics standards in boot camp here and here, particularly when it comes to that final 54-hour recruit-defining event known as the Crucible. We discussed the fact that if a Marine recruit were to exhibit some character deficiency - such as lying or cheating - he would be going home: No second chances.

We also discussed the Corps' new tougher rifle marksmanship training (which is already the toughest recruit marksmanship program of any of the services. And being required to make killing hits on man-sized targets at 500 yards means that being "the toughest" marksmanship program is not something that's debatable. It's a fact.).

But that's not all. If you fail one physical obstacle in the revised (meaning "harder") Crucible, you're out.

No second chance. No recycle to a new platoon. You're packing your trash, and going home, because the Corps doesn't want you.

So much for the naysayers who swear standards are being lowered to help increase sagging recruiting numbers.

Speaking of recruiting numbers: They're up. Way up. They always are for the Marine Corps, which met 141 percent of its goal, last month; and meets or exceeds recruiting goals every month, every quarter, every year. And the Marines are meeting and exceeding goals as Defense Department demands for new Marines are also increasing.

Last year, in fact, total force (active and reserve) enlisted accessions (brand-new bodies the Corps is required to bring in annually) were over 38,000 new Marines. This year, the requirement is over 42,000, and DoD officials are telling me, "We are on track to meet that end of year mission."

Even more amazing is that the incoming Marines know they are going to war. They are willing and eager to serve their country, even at great risk to themselves, and they are not stupid or irresponsible (as some self-serving politicians might have us believe).

Maj. Wes Hayes, a spokesman with the Marine Corps Recruiting Command at Quantico, tells me:

You have to remember only 28 percent of young men and women - between 17 and 24 years old - are even recruitable. We look at the whole person. And when you consider the screen-to-discover - the moral, physical, mental, and educational - evaluations, only about three in 10 qualify for military service. It's actually a very small number.

Ellie