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As a teachable moment, may I play devil's advocate for a moment and argue the other sides possible position, not that I'm qualified to... but I'm sure those far more in the know can shed some light.

Could this be a "lesser of evils" situation...

There are more missions then can be filled by the current force.
Higher up says "build".
If USASFC doesn't build, the money and the mission will go elsewhere.
(i.e. MARSOC...the new SFAB, etc)

Is command stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Is the lesser evil here to lower standards, get the numbers through, keep the mission, keep the money, sideline the relatively small number of guys who aren't up to scratch.

Ya can hate it, but playing the game, and playing it well is a necessary evil.
The Army is after all a public sector creature, with all the issues that come with being a part of the public sector beast. Win the battles you can win, play the game with the battles you can't win. And choose your battles wisely.

I've always said that USASFC needed to take back the recruiting mission off USAREC, who aren't geared right to attract large numbers of quality 18x recruits.

Looking forward to learning from the replies.

S