WASHINGTON – The U.S. Navy is starting to enlist individuals who didn’t graduate from high school or get a GED, marking the second time in about a year that the service has opened the door to lower-performing recruits as it struggles to meet enlistment goals.

  • @stufkes
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    1910 months ago

    This seems the right place to post this lecture on “Macnamaras morons”. Young men with intellectual disabilities that were drafted to fight in Vietnam. Absolutely disgusting policy and heartbreaking for the families and the drafted men.

    https://youtu.be/_J2VwFDV4-g?si=qTtvTDDUgBIgFmVy

    • @Everythingispenguins
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      410 months ago

      Plus a disaster for the army. It reduced its effective force because most of the men drafted with disabilities required a full time buddy to navigate most simple tasks. Literally it failed in every way possible.

      • @stufkes
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        110 months ago

        Yes, this is covered in the talk as well. In one example, an officer is killed by a macnamara man because he couldn’t tell him apart from the enemy, and another where a soldier couldn’t grasp the concept of throwing a grenade in a parabola over an obstacle rather than straight ahead.

    • @[email protected]
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      fedilink
      -610 months ago

      Sure, but a grade 12 or not is more situational than anything indicating intelligence. Yeah it’s mostly ubiquitous now, but that doesn’t change it’s no real indication.