(Military Times) Op-Ed: Reclaiming Army Standards

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Reclaiming Army Standards
Brandon Friedman | January 13, 2009

When I was in Afghanistan, one of my finest soldiers--a PFC machine gunner--was without a high school diploma. In his case, however, it was irrelevant to the mission we had to accomplish. He was professional, competent, and certainly on track to become a great leader. And now, seven years later, he’s a seasoned E-6 squad leader on his way to taking over an infantry platoon.

But the fact that this successful soldier was allowed to enlist with a GED doesn’t mean that it should be the norm--and it doesn't mean that his level of maturity was typical, either.

In reality, the Army is in the midst of a disturbing trend that threatens not only our immediate goals in the current conflicts, but, more importantly, the long term health of the organization. The fact is, while the Army has been lowering its entrance standards with regard to education, physical fitness, and crime since the end of the Cold War, that process has accelerated since the invasion of Iraq. And this is something that the incoming Army Secretary should address.

The numbers are shocking when you actually see the scope of the issue:

Dr. Andrew Krepinevich, a retired Army officer, points out that in 1992 98 percent of recruits had a high school diploma. By 2004, that number had fallen to 86 percent. In 2007, only 79 percent of Army recruits had completed high school. Whereas nearly everyone in the Army had a diploma 15 years earlier, by 2007, fewer than four out five soldiers did.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,182930,00.html?wh=news


About Brandon Friedman



Brandon Friedman is the author of The War I Always Wanted, and has served since 2007 as the Vice Chairman of VoteVets.org -- a 100,000-member organization dedicated to getting veterans elected to public office.

As an infantry officer in the Army's 101st Airborne Division, Brandon led a rifle platoon into Afghanistan's Shah-e-Kot Valley as part of Operation Anaconda in the months after 9/11. A year later, he commanded a platoon during the invasion of Iraq -- leading troops during combat and counterinsurgency operations in Hillah, Baghdad, and Tal Afar throughout 2003. Since leaving active duty in 2004, Brandon has promoted national security issues and veterans affairs across a wide variety of media outlets, including ABC News, the Associated Press, CNN, MSNBC, and C-SPAN. He is currently the Editor of VetVoice.com -- a blog on politics and the military.

Brandon holds a BA in History from Louisiana State University and an MPA in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Texas at Dallas.