Army taking recruits from bottom of list

WASHINGTON – Faced with the toughest recruiting climate in nearly a decade, Army Secretary Francis Harvey said last week that he would double the number of recruits who score in the bottom third on the military’s aptitude test.

What Harvey didn’t say was that the Army already has done that. Recruiting figures due for release Tuesday show that about 4 percent – or 2,900 of the 73,000 recruits – scored at the bottom of the Army’s test, Pentagon and military officials said.

In all of 2004, the Army accepted just 440 soldiers from the lowest category, about 0.6 percent of 70,000 recruits, although Army rules allowed up to 2 percent. By doubling the percentage, the Army will bring in more low scorers than at any time since 1989, according to Army records, raising concerns among some members of Congress, military analysts and retired officers that the service is lowering quality.

Those who score the lowest on the aptitude test – less than 30 points out of a possible 99 – are known as Category IV. The test quizzes potential soldiers on general science, mathematics and word knowledge.