large % of US not smart enough for military

[Joe1]

When a prospective candidate applies for military service they are administered an ASVAB test. Two scores derived from that test are the AFQT and a GT score. The AFQT is a percentile so a score of 40 means one scored better than 40 % of all other test takers.
It is my understanding that the Army now requires HS grads to score a 33 and the Air Force requires a 50. In simple terms, 33% of 18 to 23 year olds are ineligible for Army service and 50% are eliminated from enlisting in the Air Force based on lack of cognitive ability. The AFQT part of the ASVAB mostly tests for reading comprehension and mathematical reasoning.
I had a conversation with an Army recruiter a while back and he stated that the 33 minimum would only qualify an enlistee for limited MOSs (military occupational specialties) and low scores can be a barrier to reenlistment.
The military is becoming very high tech. It is becoming more selective and the days of ”join the Army or go to jail” are long gone. The option to serve is not available for many Americans on the lower end of the IQ spectrum. It is becoming very difficult for youngsters to get a start on life with barriers to military service and the job market flooded with a surplus of college grads competing for limited entry level positions. The military used to be a viable option where the non college bound could learn a skill. Nowadays, one needs to be smart enough to attend college to secure many military occupations.
A Google search on ASVAB, GT score, and AFQT will yield some interesting information.

 

[FowVay]

I think it's a shame that people believe that the all-volunteer army is made up of people who had no other options in life.

 

[Kira]

Thanks for the info but it comes as no surprise.

In a Popular Science article years ago they mentioned that the rifle was the new technology for the Civil War.

The computer was today's equivalent. I heard drone operators say on a TV interview that soldiers "get in the way" of military operations.

The Navy is kinda king as it can hit coastlines...all the way to 800 miles inland. And they have airplanes!

 

[Mr Nice]

Navy and Air Force requires higher ASVAB score because they have more technical jobs, Army and Marines require lower scores.

Military is just like any other career field, some are dead end... other are very good paying in the civilian world.

 

[Kuato]

Goes along with average IQ...."average" used to be 100 30 years ago. Now it's closer to 80.

 

[FowVay]

The Army and Marine Corp. don't "require" lower scores. They have some jobs that accept lower scores.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: Joe1


When a prospective candidate applies for military service they are administered an ASVAB test.


Hang on a minute, the candidate pool isn't "the US" it's those applying to serve. It seems that we as a society, guidance counselors, etc don't value such things and don't "steer" the people in that direction equally.

It's not much different from saying the bottom % of a graduating class should pick a blue collar trade like auto mechanics then being surprised when an audi dealership needs a robot connected to HQ engineering to point out what to do.

An all volunteer military has a moral advantage-- everyone signed up to be there-- but a draft brings in expertise and more walks of life. The problem with that is, what sort of continuity does one get without the draftees being career soldiers but rather in for a year or two?

 

[ShotGun429]

Originally Posted By: Kuato
Goes along with average IQ...."average" used to be 100 30 years ago. Now it's closer to 80.
That is very sad. I believe that fact will in time,is truly going to come back and bite us.

 

[Panzerman]

My kids just took this. I think they told me the Army was 35, The Marines 30, The Navy and Air Force was 40. The Coast Guard was 45. Just because they are pickier. My son who barely graduated with low grades took the test and got 75. Recruiters were melting his phone wanting him to enlist, especially the Navy but he went with the private sector. My daughter, straight A, dual enrollment college,well over 4.0 and she got a 38. She was bummed. I guess the test is alot of mechanical questions. She is considering the military so she will retake it. It's a pretty cool test. She wanted the Navy so she probably get it.

 

[fdcg27]

The US military is like any other employer in that standards are determined by the manpower requirements versus the applicant pool.
Unlike any other entry-level position today, the military offers decent pay and great benefits as well as the possibility of a career with a real retirement income including healthcare provided.
In the current economy, the various branches can afford to be picky about whom they recruit. In a more robust one, the enlistment criteria would revert to breathing, as it was during the one year that I was liable to the draft.
I knew families who lost sons in Vietnam. It was ugly.

 

[gathermewool]

We still need men and women to cook the food, chip the paint, and clean the latrine.

When bodies are needed for the next ramp-up, the standards will go down.

 

[totegoat]

I know. Been that way for a long time. Sad, but true.

 

[BigD1]

Back when I took the test(1978) Navy submarine duty required the highest score.

 

[Gene K]

I once took the prescreening test at the recruiters office. It can't be that tough. I scored 100% and I'm not that smart. I wonder what you have to score to move on to the actual test?

Of course I've always done well on IQ Test but we all know they are a very flawed way to measure intelligence.

 

[splinter]

Originally Posted By: Joe1
...In simple terms, 33% of 18 to 23 year olds are ineligible for Army service and 50% are eliminated from enlisting in the Air Force based on lack of cognitive ability...

Current U.S. armed forces personnel levels of enlisted, officer and reservists totals less than 3 million per DoD.
Most recent census counted ~30,672,088 of our population aged 18-23.

Test-taking abilities, mechanical prowess and intellect notwithstanding, the numbers would tend to indicate a reasonably sized pool of potential candidates from which to select.

Our 21-year-old son is a senior undergraduate engineering student at UCLA who's earned a spot on the Dean's list and in a national honor society.
He's minoring in mandarin with aspirations of becoming a patent attorney. Point being he's pretty sharp...but not always sure which way to twist a spanner.

www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/doc/sf1.pdf

 

[uc50ic4more]

Originally Posted By: ShotGun429
Originally Posted By: Kuato
Goes along with average IQ...."average" used to be 100 30 years ago. Now it's closer to 80.
That is very sad. I believe that fact will in time,is truly going to come back and bite us.


Fact?! I am pretty sure it was Abe Lincoln who told us we can't believe everything we read on the internet.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390444032404578006612858486012

 

[addyguy]

It comes down to supply and demand....there is lower demand right now, so recruiters are being picky.

As others have alluded, if a big new conflict started, almost any able-bodied man or woman willing to serve would be welcome.

 

[skyactiv]

The Army allows the lowest AFQT score (31), not the Marines (50).

I dated a chick that was in the USAF. She scored very high which allowed her a shorter enlistment. She did very well in marksmanship and was in a gun turret on a Humvee.
Very smart woman.

 

[Chris142]

I tried to enlist right after hs. I took a few tests and was told I was not desirable.i probly failed the test

 

[BrocLuno]

Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Navy and Air Force requires higher ASVAB score because they have more technical jobs, Army and Marines require lower scores.

Military is just like any other career field, some are dead end... other are very good paying in the civilian world.


I disagree somewhat with the first part, in principal...

It's all about MOS. Plain Infantry might get by on a somewhat lower score, but there are so many specialties nowadays that if you try to do anything other than walk, you need smarts ...

I think Navy and Air Force want higher scoring recruits because of the vacant MOS's ...