FORT JACKSON, S.C. (AP) – Austin Swarner left high school to care for his mother while she fought a losing battle with cancer. Tony Brown wanted to begin supporting himself and left two classes shy of a diploma. Haelee Holden got tired of trying to make it through school while flipping burgers until 1 a.m.
But the U.S. Army, eager to fill its ranks amid wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, doesn’t see them as dropouts. They are recruits who only need a GED before they’re ready to begin basic training. And so, the Army formally opens its first prep school Wednesday. “It’s academic immersion,” explained Col. Jeffrey Sanderson, chief of staff at Fort Jackson, home of the Army’s largest basic training school. “Our studies show that with only three out of every 10 people of military age being capable of joining the Army, we are going to have to do something different.” He said the Army prefers those who graduate from high school on their own, because it demonstrates “tenacity.” But the reality of current graduation rates has the Army pressed to find an alternative, Sanderson explained.
Holden, 18, of Medford, Ore., is racing through her first week of practice tests before taking a formal GED exam soon. She left home at 16, one of nine children of a mill worker, and wants to be a military police officer. “There’s no jobs out there, nothing. It’s just horrible. And it got hard just trying to support myself and go to school at the same time,” Holden said.
During the Vietnam war, a Marine Corp. recruiter accompanied my brother and others to West Virginia where they purchased his GED. So this doesn’t surprise me one bit.
3 of 10??
30%??
And we as a nation CANT KEEP a standing military of 1%??
The trick for the Army has been finding a balance between someone smart enough to be able to graduate, yet dumb enough to say “yes, sir!” when ordered to attack a bunch of other idiots with machine guns.
The Marines are looking for a few good men.
The Army is looking for the left-side of the bell curve.
The only logical solution is to reinstate the draft. Sure, it means that some republican families may have to see their son drop from water polo class, but this is about national security. I’m sure they will understand.
#3 – Dallas
>>The only logical solution is
>>to reinstate the draft.
I’m with you, lone star man.
Five will get you ten if we had a draft already, and the Precious Snowflake Bush Twins and Cheney’s muff munching daughter had been conscripted, we wouldn’t be in Iraq right now.
And we would currently be wondering who was going to replace John Kerry as President this time.
Ah Dallas, very nice. I’m sure there are many fine Republican families who have lost loved ones in service of their country that do not begrudge assholes like you your right to free speech, no matter how ignorant it may be.
So, you have a problem with the military educating those who would otherwise end up on society’s junkpile? ( no education=no job=no future). The military academies and many of the militarys academic schools , e.g. nuclear power school,are among the best in the nation. The US Naval Academy, Annapolis, is consistently rated as one of the best colleges in the nation. The military actually does have experience with educating people well. Some people can only see the dark side of things. They seem to be well represented on this forum.
btw, military prep schools are nothing new – in this case they are extending their approach to those who have failed in the traditional educational system. I have little doubt that they will succeed.
#6 – BillM
>>I’m sure there are many fine Republican
>>families who have lost loved ones in service
>>of their country
Naw. The kids of fine Republican families are too busy playing water polo and dining at country clubs after a hard 18 holes.
Republicans SEND people to war. They don’t actually fight themselves. Note: Our current “administration”.
Ah yes, those nasty Republicans. Wish they could learn from the fine peaceful leadership the Demos have shown over the years.
How about FDR. When he wasn’t stuffing the Supreme court or trying to be President forever, he dicked around until the Japanese were baited into attacking us. Then Harry T. He lit up Japan, twice, with nuclear weapons. Oh, and about that Korean thing…..he did a fine job there.
And the idol, JFK. Anyone want to talk about southeast Asia? When he wasn’t screwing Marlyn Monroe he was getting us mired in a war that cost 50,000 American lives. And Johnson…..he just kept it going, and going.
Don’t give us this bullshit about Republicans sending folks off to war.
“He said the Army prefers those who graduate from high school on their own, because it demonstrates “tenacity.” /// Tenacity?==or the social supported needed to go to high school-aka-a family with enough income to support their kids.
Nice republican spin there once again blaming the victim for not having what it takes to “compete.”
These social darwinists are hard to stomach.
Well, as a Republican, I spent 6 years in the military. I worked for Ronald Reagan though. He only started little fights, like Panama, and Beruit.
I was a lousy student who barely made it out of high school. I’m not dumb,as I scored very well on the ACT and ASVAB. I just don’t like doing school work.
This sounds like a great way to get some more people into the military WITH the type of credentials they are looking for instead of just saying, “Well, 3 years of HS is close enough.”
Look, they are still volunteering to go. They should explore EVERY avenue to recruit for the military before reinstating the draft.
Don
Well, gotta go. Almost 2200 EDT Thursday. Have to turn on the TV. Don’t want to miss the Seinfeld reruns.
This is one of several issues that allow a look at the very underpinnings of our “supposed” social system.
If you can’t fill your employment rank, aren’t you supposed to PAY MORE?
Just for grins==name a job that no one wants to do that pays well.
Draft has pro’s and con’s about it. Revealing the falsehood of our capitalistic/free market system is just a bonus.
Still,
the USA cant find/use/build a standing military with 1% of the USA population.
The military is above average in intelligence. They measure IQs when going in. But don’t let your knowledge get in the way. It just proves the point.
Reinstate the draft… I guess we’ll start to see a return to the old US sport of fragging then.
#15 – Lyin’ Mike
>>The military is above average in intelligence.
The US military is average in intelligence. And one reason for this is that there’s a lower cut-off where people are not intelligent to enlist, cutting off much of the left side of the bell curve. And the distribution is skewed to the high side by the commissioned officers. I’d wager that enlisted men and women are below average.
Time to bring back the draft. If we’re going to be a warmongering nation, it’s the only way.
Oh hell let’s just cut to chase!
ANYONE 13 years and up that would like to look cool in a uniform and carry a gun and play with a tank, please show up tomorrow morning.
If you like FPS’ then you will love the army.
Cursor_
Forced conscription and liberty are not compatible. You can have one or the other. I can not understand why the majority of American’s want give up liberty and freedom for a bit of illusory safety. It is quite depressing.
If I was thinking of going with the army. I would go with private contractors. Way better pay and if I didn’t like the gig. I could go home.
Once you are in the army. You can never get out.
If McCain wins, you will have many more wars to fight. On the bright side. You will never be unemployed.
#9
You forgot Bill Clinton who left the office with a 127 Billion dollars budget surplus and his biggest crime was spraying a fat chick’s face with semen.
Update:
As of April, the school has graduated over 1200 students.
The Army is following these kids closely in Basic Training. A typical Basic Platoon loses 8-14% of the candidates from the day they step off the bus to graduation day.
They’ve lost 6 of the GED school graduates. That’s (ahem) less than .5%.
This school is doing something right. Perhaps
something our public schools are not doing.
I graduated from this program. I am very grateful for it. The training was excellent; I had a huge leg up physically and never failed a p.t test. I will never forget my time there.