Quote Originally Posted by Stan View Post
An interesting observation. I wasn't aware of high standards having an affect on recruitment and retention. Do you have a military study covering that MMX ?

Actually, we do have the luxury (across the board) of demanding higher standards. It's that, or the insurance premiums will eventually become a luxury the American public cannot finance.

EDIT: Forgive my 23 years in the Army, but your user profile doesn't help me justify your recent post. Background that is.
Well, my observation is based on
1) the Army has fallen short of its recruiting goals for some time now
2) the Army had to lower educational standards (previously above DoD minimums) to address this shortfall
3) Physical fitness isn't uniformly essential to all jobs

If you start requiring mechanics and admin clerks to run 3 miles, you'll have to decide what to do with an otherwise competent soldier who is just a fatbody. I'd rather have a fatbody who'll process my travel claim on time than a clerk that loses the paperwork but can run a 300 PFT. I know of otherwise competent SNCO's who've been adsep'd because they couldn't meet the weight standard. Of course, if the choice is between two equally competent soldiers where the only difference is PT, it's an easy choice. You don't always have that luxury.

If you start getting more selective in one area, say PT, then either your numbers decline or you have to be less selective in other metrics. That's a simple fact. You yourself alluded to grumbling in the Corps about declining training standards resulting from our growth. The Army is an order of magnitude larger and consequently cannot and should not do things the way the Marines do - it's not a rip on the Army, just an acknowledgment that different circumstances require different approaches.

PT standards make a fun thing to rag other people about - it happens in the Corps between the Division and the Wing. But honestly, I don't expect grunts to turn wrenches nor my mechanics to be lean mean fighting machines. PT isn't the only metric of competency and there are plenty of MOS's where it's not a principal one.

No, I don't have extensive recruiting experience. I spent some time on TAD as an officer recruiter and exchanged notes regularly with a college buddy who was a goldbar recruiter in the same AO and was tasked out to the RS to help with the enlisted mission. I have tried to wrap my head around the challenges.