The U.S. Army appears to have reduced its standards to meet its recruiting goal for October, as it began a five-year push to increase its size by 65,000.

In October, 20 percent of the new recruits were admitted with either a moral or physical waiver, The Boston Globe reported. Moral waivers are granted recruits with criminal records, while physical waivers include the overweight, those with other medical conditions and those who fail drug tests.

"The across-the-board lowering of the standards is buying problems in

the future," said John Hutson, a retired rear admiral and former Navy judge advocate general who now serves as dean of the Franklin Pierce Law Center. "You are going to have more people getting in trouble, more people washing out."

The Army Recruiting Command, in a statement to the Globe, said all recruits who require waivers are considered carefully. For example, recruiters examine recent employment history of those with criminal records and whether they are remorseful about their pasts.  // Copyright 2007 by United Press International



Publication date: 28 November 2007   

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