The US Navy is starting to enlist individuals who didn’t graduate from high school or get a GED, marking the second time in about a year that the service has opened the door to lower-performing recruits as it struggles to meet enlistment goals.
The decision follows a move in December 2022 to bring in a larger number of recruits who score very low on the Armed Services Qualification Test.
Both are fairly rare steps that the other military services largely avoid or limit, even though they are all finding it increasingly difficult to attract the dwindling number of young people who can meet the military’s physical, mental and moral standards.
Under the new plan, Navy recruits without an education credential will be able to join as long as they score 50 or above on the qualification test, which is out of 99.
The last time the service took individuals without education credentials was in 2000.
“We get thousands of people into our recruiting stations every year that want to join the Navy but do not have an education credential. And we just turn them away,” said Vice Adm. Rick Cheeseman, the Navy’s chief of personnel, in an interview Friday with The Associated Press.
He said that of the more than 2,400 who were turned away last year, as many as 500 of them could score high enough to get in.
He said he has already sent an order to his recruiters to start the new expanded effort, adding, “I’m hoping all my recruiters have called all 2,442 of them in the last 72 hours, and we’ll see how it goes … We’ll try to get some test takers this weekend.”
In the wake of the pandemic, the services have faced significant enlistment challenges. COVID-19 forced the military to shut down recruiting stations and they were closed out of high schools and many public fairs of events where they historically found success reaching prospective candidates. --->READ MORE HERE
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The Navy said Friday that it will allow those without a high school diploma to enlist as long as they score a 50 or higher on the Armed Forces Qualification Test that all prospects must take, the latest move to boost recruitment in the face of an historic recruiting crisis reverberating across the services.
Those without a General Educational Development, or GED, credential will also be able to enlist, as long as they hit that test score threshold, according to the Chief of Naval Personnel’s office.
Federal law allows the military to recruit such applicants, and the Navy last allowed those without a diploma to enlist in 2000, according to CNP officials.
To date, the Navy is the only military branch currently seeking to recruit those without a high school diploma or GED as it works to expand the number of eligible candidates to join the service amid an historically challenging recruiting environment.
1/3 - I updated the @USNavy recruiting policy to allow candidates with AFQT scores of 50 or higher who do not have a HS diploma or GED to enlist - opening another pathway towards enlistment. This expands the Navy's pool of applicants + attracts talent from across the nation.
— VADM Rick Cheeseman, USN (@2Cheeseman) January 26, 2024
The Navy said the policy change does not mean the service is lowering its standards, and that these prospective sailors must still qualify for specific ratings based on their Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or ASVAB, line scores.
“This policy update benefits the Navy by expanding the potential applicant pool of highly qualified and motivated future Sailors who may have been impacted by COVID-19 trends of non-traditional schooling, early exit from high school to support their family, or a variety of other individual circumstances,” the Navy said in a statement Monday announcing the policy. --->READ MORE HEREFollow link below to a relevant story:
+++++Retired navy officer: Lowering standards raises numbers but sinks morale+++++
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