MB Civic

By Russell Bleland & Curtis Gilroy | November 25, 2006 | The Washington Post

There are some very surprising statistics here that contradict the assertions that the current all-volunteer army entraps the poor and under-educated (listen well, John Kerry…).

For example, over 90 percent of recruits have high school diplomas (versus 80% of their age group overall). Two-thirds of them score in the upper half of standardized aptitude tests. Most surprising of all (at least to me) is this finding: recruits come mostly from neighborhoods with above-average incomes. Furthermore, those recruited during the war are more likely to come from affluent neighborhoods than are those who were recruited before the war.

The numbers appear to be reliable, but more than that – they are convincing and full of meaning. The implications of the statistics shine through the rah-rah recruiting message (hung by the writers around the numbers like streamers at a party), but the self-congratulatory tone is understandable, given the work the writers do. Russell Beland is Deputy Assistant Aecretary of the Navy for Manpower Analysis. Curtis Gilroy is Director of Accession Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Nuff said, but they do not pretend to be impartial observers, and that’s just fine.

Personally, I am grateful they wrote this. The essay helped me understand some of the complexity of the recruiting problem. Remember this stuff the next time you hear incoming House Ways and Means chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY) calling for a renewal of the draft to alleviate the abuse of minorities…BS

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/24/AR2006112401103.html