Debunking Recruiting Myths

This Pentagon official is firing back at several myths about today's young military recruits, includingfalsehoods you often hear in the press. From DefenseLink:

They are so clearly a cut above America," Bill Carr, acting deputy undersecretary of defense for military personnel policy, said of today's recruits.

And here is an abridged version of the Myths:


Myth 1: Military recruits are less educated and have fewer work alternatives than other young Americans. In fact, military recruits are far better educated than the general youth population, Carr said. More than 90 percent of recruits have a high school diploma, compared to about 75 percent of the U.S. youth population.


Myth 2: The military tends to attract people with lower aptitudes. Recruits actually have much higher average aptitudes than the general youth population, Carr said. In fiscal 2005, 67 percent of recruits scored above the 60th percentile on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery.


Myth 3: The military attracts a disproportionate number of poor or underprivileged youth. In reality, military recruits mirror the U.S. population and are solidly middle class, Carr said. He cited a recent Heritage Foundation report that shows most recruits come from middle-class families, rather than poorer or wealthier ones.


Myth 4: A disproportionate number of recruits come from urban areas. Inner cities are actually the most underrepresented area among new recruits, Carr said. Both suburban and rural areas are overrepresented, he said.


Myth 5: The military isn't geographically representative of America.
The southern part of the United States generates the most recruits, 41 percent, but also has the biggest youth population to draw from, 36 percent, Carr said. Twenty-four percent of recruits come from north-central regions, which have 23 percent of the youth population. The west, with 24 percent of the nation's youth, contributes 21 percent of the new enlistees. And the northeast, with 18 percent of the youth population, provides 14 percent of new recruits.