The papers have been filled recently with stories about recruiting problems. And it's got nothing to do with sports.
The Army, the Air Force, the military in general is having a hard time getting kids to sign up. The reasons are many. And not altogether awful. For example, when the economy is humming along, and jobs are plentiful in a healthy market, young people have more options.
But readiness must be maintained in all economies. For reasons why, see the papers.
The U.S. Army has come up with a new op-order, and congrats to the brass for thinking it up. One main reason why the military branches aren't meeting quotas is that many kids these days don't meet military requirements. Sometimes they're too out of shape. Sometimes they can't pass basic tests to qualify for enlistment. Which is a sad comment about some of the nation's public schools.
The Army has been taking thousands of young people who've scored too low on its test and sent them to another kind of basic training--this time for the very basics. Call it a prep school. They are taught what they should have learned in school. They take the entry test every so often, and when they score high enough, they are sent to big-boy Basic Training, complete with yelling drill sergeants.
"I think an interesting thing we've seen is that the kids coming out of that course who go into basic actually seem to have a little bit of a leg up," said Army Secretary Christine Wormuth. "During basic training, certain young individuals who show a little bit more leadership skills than others get selected to have leadership positions. And what we're seeing is the kids coming out of the prep course are often the ones who are being chosen for that."
That's not surprising. A kid who's been in uniform (even in prep school) is going to be more confident than the standard all-American teen who just got off the couch. The prep schooler probably already says "ma'am" and "sir" and stands up straight.
The brass says the prep school boosts entry-test scores by nearly 20 percent. And that is also not surprising. Since the kid who's willing to go through these courses probably really wants to join the ranks.
The Army's program has worked so well, it got the Navy's attention. That branch starts it own program next week. The Air Force is interested, too.
We don't see much difference between this prep course and, say, a prep course before taking the SAT. Happens all the time. Some of these prep courses in the civilian world are so good that they cost a pretty penny. The young people in the Army's program are getting paid to attend. And the nation gets its defense.
Good to go at this station?
Roger that.