Some 38 percent of soldiers drop out during their first term of enlistment

May 26, 1999
Web posted at: 2:44 p.m. EDT (1844 GMT)

FORT JACKSON, South Carolina (CNN) -- The U.S. Army needs more than a few good young men and women -- it needs thousands of them. And it may lower its standards to get them.

With the U.S. economy booming, many young job seekers apparently would rather work in private industry than sign up as soldiers. As a result, the Army expects to fall about 5,000 soldiers short of its recruiting goals this year.

There also is an attrition problem, with 38 percent of soldiers dropping out during their first term of enlistment.

That shortage has Army leaders thinking about accepting more recruits that don't have at least a high school diploma.

"There is a very large group of young Americans who did not graduate from high school in the traditional way but would still be good soldiers," said U.S. Army Secretary Louis Caldera.

Caldera said the Army in recent years reduced the percentage of recruits required to have diplomas from 95 percent to 90 percent. He said military leaders now are considering lowering the number again.

Gehrke, a high school dropout, completed Army training and likes the highly structured way of life

One example of a dropout showing early success as a soldier is Randy Gehrke. Gehrke, who earned an equivalency diploma, recently graduated with an award from basic Army training. He plans to make the Army his future.

"If I try hard and put forth my effort, I'm gonna get rewarded by it," Gehrke said.

But some see a drawback to accepting more high school dropouts. Sgt. 1st Class William Cannon says when he was a recruiter, the theory was that a person who has dropped out before is likely to drop out again.

Correspondent Brian Cabell contributed to this report

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