Felons are not allowed and the U.S. Armed Forces view felons as losers. With that said, the U.S. Armed Forces up their game (requirements) several years before the Pandemic when they realized they needed more educated soldiers and more in-shape (fit) soldiers. They didn't realize until it was too late because of the Pandemic that those requirements were going to drop recruitment. Simply, more people are trying to get into the military but fewer are qualifying for entry into the U.S. Armed Forces because recruits are too fat, less fit, and less educated. Another way to look at it is those who get in have higher ASVAB scores, SAT scores are higher than the average college student and military soldiers are less obese. Today, it is a lot tougher to get into the U.S. Armed Forces. Another issue, there's a wider generation gap between military soldiers and their children in comparison to prior decades. The military has historically relied on "family recruitment" such as a parent serving and then raising their children on/near military bases...those children had a higher probability of serving too. A good example is my family and family of military friends. A high percentage of us now have children serving in the military and some of us have children in military schools. In contrast, other friends that have never served and/or never grew up in a military family...not one of them has a child serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. Just as important, there's a diversity issue. White recruits are dramatically down while minority recruits have been steadily rising especially among Asians. The rate at which white recruitment has fallen far outpaces nationwide demographic shifts, data experts and Army officials interviewed by Military.com noted. They don't see a single cause to the recruiting problem, but pointed to a confluence of issues for Army recruiting, including partisan scrutiny of the service, a growing obesity epidemic and an underfunded public education system. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/01/10/army-sees-sharp-decline-white-recruits.html Other issues clearly spelled out at Military.com Solution: U.S. public and private schools need to solve the obesity epidemic in America and graduate more educated students. These students will then have a higher probability of gaining entry into the U.S. Armed Forces and then recruiting numbers will begin to rise along will more of those recruits able to pass the entry exams. In addition, the U.S. Armed Forces will do more focus recruiting those who have parents who served after 1990. By the way, during the Pandemic, the U.S. Armed Forces had fewer Covid outbreaks, fewer Covid hospitalizations and deaths than the general public. In my opinion, it's because soldiers are better fit and were more educated about the Pandemic than the general public. wrbtrader
Navy soon killed the "lowering of the requirements" because so long as they can score above the 50th percentile on the Armed Services Qualification Test (ASQT). Simply, too many recruits could not pass the ASQT test. More importantly, too many were too fat...out of shape. The recruit must be at or under the maximum weight allowed for your height when your recruiter takes you to MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station). If you are over the allowed weight, you will be disqualified from shipping to Recruit Training. REQUIREMENTS TO BECOME A SAILOR To join the Navy, you must: Be a U.S. citizen; or Legal Permanent Resident (Enlisted) Be between the ages of 17 and 41 for Enlisted programs. Age requirements for Officer programs vary.* Have a high school diploma or GED equivalent (Enlisted) or have a four-year degree from an accredited university (Officer) Have a qualifying score on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test (Enlisted) or the Officer Aptitude Rating (OAR) and Aviation Selection Test Battery (ASTB) (Officer) Pass the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) medical exam Meet the physical, mental and moral standards of the Navy *The age requirements for joining the Navy depend on the path you take, and they exist mainly to ensure you’re able to succeed in a challenging environment. If you are not yet 18, you need parental consent to join. Other restrictions or exceptions may apply depending on your job or program in the Navy. Contact a recruiter to request more information about basic requirements. A strange statistic, more recruits have attempted to join the U.S. Armed Forces without knowing how to speak English and without possessing an I-551 (Permanent Residence Card). They were rejected by the U.S. Armed Forces. Being a recruit with or without a diploma is one thing...passing the physical, ASVAB and ASQT is another thing. 23% of recruits in the Armed Forces fail the ASVAB and ASQT tests. Military follows two statistics, applicants (recruits) and newly enlisted. Those who wanted to join have dropped dramatically versus newly enlisted. https://usafacts.org/articles/is-military-enlistment-down/ Here's a strange statistic, if a recruit passes the military entrance exams and is not overweight...within 3 years of service...70% will be overweight at open military bases in which soldiers will typically eat off base. Now go troll someone else instead of navigating around my block/ignore to quote my message posts. wrbtrader
. Yeah,only needs 50 out of 100 and no high school diploma A 50 on the test is a relatively low score