Recruiters have thought of everything: higher enlistment bonuses, lower standards, turning a blind eye to the tattooed and the overweight.
The Pentagon is trying to cope with the surge in suicides, but it is holding a bad hand: the desperate shortage of troops has forced military officials to lower the bar for enlistment, thus letting in people whose drug and alcohol abuse or other behavioral problems would previously have kept them out.
Some may argue that our abandonment of merit as a criterion for officer status is simply the direction the military overall has taken — the stress of fighting two wars has lowered the bar for enlistment, and R.O.T.C. standards have also declined.
While he agrees that, "Bergdahl is certainly responsible for his own actions," we should also "hold accountable the civilian and military leaders who lowered the standards for enlistment, promoted people who did not deserve to be in the service, and who mislead and mismanaged the war efforts".
Neurotic disorders were associated with lower educational attainment, greater pre-enlistment vulnerability, holding a lower rank, and being in the Royal Air Force.
One Iraq veteran said he had witnessed increased disciplinary problems among troops, which he attributed to the enlistment of recruits with lower academic credentials as well as some who have been granted "moral waivers," a step that allows those with minor criminal records to join up.
That means, one American officer said, that enlistment standards are being lowered at a time when the military faces counterinsurgency and nation-building tasks that are more complex than the traditional missions during the cold war.
Alcohol abuse was associated with younger age, being male, not being in a relationship, greater pre-enlistment vulnerability, holding a lower rank, being in the Army, having a combat or combat support role and not being medically downgraded.
The retention rate, which refers to those soldiers who have completed their three-year enlistment and who then choose to remain, is even lower.
We would expect the prevalence of neurotic disorders to be lower in the military because of the screening procedures prior to enlistment, and the discharge of the most unwell after recruitment.
