After Criticism, Army Reinstates High School Diploma Requirement as Recruitment Plummets – By Caitlin M. Kenney (Defense One) / July 6, 2022
Service leaders offered to welcome more applicants without degrees, amid the “most challenging” recruiting environment since the Vietnam War.
Army recruits need to have a high school diploma after all. Some of them, at least.
After briefly signaling they would waive the minimum education requirement for “a limited number” of recruits, Army leaders have reversed course and reinstated the need for a high school diploma or GED, an Army spokesman said Tuesday.
The service on June 23 began allowing people to enlist in the regular Army without a high school diploma or GED, as long as they scored 50 or higher on the military’s entrance test, called the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or ASVAB, and met all the other standard enlistment criteria, said a spokesman for U.S. Army Recruiting Command, which posted additional details in a press release. The service said it wanted to consider candidates who may have a reason for not completing their education, such as “caring for a terminally ill family member.”
The change was short-lived. Army officials reinstated the education requirement one week later. The reversal was first reported by Military.com, citing an internal memo. On Tuesday, Army spokesman Matt Leonard confirmed that the policy change was suspended, but could not provide any additional information.
