Army Recruits

House panel probes quality of Army recruits


Let us now call to order this House Subcommittee
To discuss Army recruiting and maybe give pity
To all the young folks with just GEDs
That the Army recruiters say meet all their needs
One time the gold standard was that 90 percent
Would graduate high school before they were sent
But the Army was finding they can’t meet that goal
They were falling too deep in a deficit hole
And so they have dropped that high lofty number
Now the number’s not 90 but significantly under
And now we have heard that it isn’t just learning
But the Army it seems is additionally turning
They lowered the quals for physical strength and good morals
And decided that they would just sit on their laurels
So the Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee
Is meeting again in this Pentagon city
And Congressman McHugh from upper New York
Says we all share concerns that this ain’t gonna work
But then David Chu, Under Sec for Defense
Said to just rest assured this will soon all make sense
He suggested the recent drop in recruit quality
That in “historic content” we are better off now then we used to be
Why just after Nam half our recruits were Cat 4
Which is below minimum on recruiting test scores
When questioned about increased moral waivers
Chu said “not for sex – they are just street drug cravers
That’s just a reflection of our society
These guys make good soldiers if you’re asking me
So now the committee can go on their way
They didn’t change things but sure had their say
And the recruits we are getting will just have to do
Till the folks at iRobots can finally come through

Mdailey
2/28/08