The U.S. Army isn’t just looking for a few good men these days. They’re looking for thousands of geeks, actually. And they’re willing to play to stereotypes in order to do so.
I’m thinking it’s no coincidence that within the course of a month the US Army released its latest cyber recruitment ad, and Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced he’s looking at loosening military recruitment standards. The issues he’s willing to budge on aren’t your ASVAB scores, however – it’s pot use and fitness (I’m talking to YOU, cyber warrior eating too many Cheetos in your mama’s basement!). I can hear the recruiter shouting it now.
Too fat to fight
Fitness standards have been a recruitment issue for years. A reported 70 percent of youth are ineligible to serve because they don’t meet the fitness standards. Over the past several months Carter has promoted a ‘Force of the Future’ initiative designed to help the military remain competitive. The latest memo suggests revising current enlistment standards. The memo states:
Review enlistment standards to ensure they are not unduly restrictive and execute pilots to assess the feasibility and impact of updated standards, such as those related to: body composition, physical fitness, swim tests, past marijuana use, single parents, and tattoos
If you’re an overweight single parent covered in tattoos who can’t swim and enjoys recreational marijuana, the new military message is – we want YOU (maybe).
The civilian head of the Pentagon is likely to exit office in January when Obama moves to his Washington, D.C. mansion. The actual implementation of the Pentagon’s new, looser standards will be left to his predecessor. But the concerns are real, as the military looks to wage a different kind of fight, with a decidedly different looking force.
Legal, Schmeegal
Revising standards on recreational marijuana use is likely due to the new wave of states legalizing the drug (with more expected to this November). From Washington State to Washington, D.C., young people are faced with the prospect of being able to get a ‘legal’ high, that may lead to issues if they decide on a career of military or public service.
The rub for both security clearance applicants and military recruits is the same. While individual states are feeling really groovy about Mary Jane (and that extra tax revenue), the federal government and the DEA are like your Old Man – they are not adjusting with the ‘times,’ and are eager to remind you that inhaling still violates federal law (talk about a buzz kill).
The Force of the Future initiative is still a twinkle in Ash Carter’s eye – we’ll see what actually gets implemented down the road. But as cyber threats grow more real and the qualified pool of talent continues to dwindle (or get too fat), it seems inevitable the military loosens some of its recruitment policies, particularly for hard-to-recruit specialties.
