Army Secretary Francis Harvey told reporters that his service would begin accepting more people who score in the bottom third of the military’s standard aptitude test—the lowest category suitable for service, according to DOD standards. According to the Baltimore Sun, the Army has already begun taking in new recruits—about four percent of the current crop of 73,000 recruits—who scored in this lowest category. The Army also has relaxed the standards at the other end of the scale: Formerly, 67 percent of all recruits score in the top third of the test, but now, only 60 percent of recruits must meet that bar.
Airmen basic rarely go on to become four-star generals, but one who did retired last week after a 42 year career that saw him rise from a lowly slick-sleeve to the head of one of the Air Force’s most important major commands.