No abilities? No problem!

The move comes after last year’s decision by the U.S. military to lower its standards, to respond to recruiting shortfalls. With thousands of soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and failing to meet their enlistment targets, the U.S. Army responded by lowering its IQ standards and has even stopped dismissing new recruits for drug abuse, alcohol and poor fitness. “Be the Best You Can Be�? You bet!

Similar reasons were also cited for no longer requiring a fitness test in our country. The Canadian Armed Forces, stretched to the limit with the deployment of more than 2,200 soldiers in Afghanistan, are looking to increase quantity, by decreasing quality. I find that’s always a winning formula, particularly when people’s lives are on the line.

In The Dumbing Down of the U.S. Army, journalist Fred Kaplan explains why this is an irresponsible idea. “The more critical reason to lament the Army’s declining standards is their likely impact on military skills. This is a high-tech army, where even tank crews and artillery spotters deal with digital displays and computerized commands. Low-tech missions (...) also require a degree of alertness, sensitivity, initiative, even rudimentary foreign-language skills, that goes beyond a rote ability to follow orders and shoot straight.� In other words, dumb soldiers get themselves, and those around them, killed.

What astounds me most, is that the fitness test, which was just eliminated by our Armed Forces, was pretty easy to begin with. Male applicants under 35 were required to complete 19 pushups, 19 situps and squeeze 75 kilograms in a hand grip. Female applicants under 35 had to perform 9 pushups, 15 situps and squeeze 50 kilograms in a hand grip. The fitness requirements for my women’s paddling team are much more stringent than that and our lives are not even remotely on the line when we compete! But then again, paddlers want to join my team and, as a result, the stringent selection process is set forth by a coach, who can afford to be picky.

Perhaps the military --and by extension, the governments and countries they serve-- should take a minute from strategizing new ways to attract and retain new recruits, to contemplate the possible reasons behind recruitment shortfalls. The current problem is so prevalent in the United States that there has been talk of a possible return to the draft system.

There’s a reason why people were rallying on Montreal streets this past weekend, protesting against Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan. There’s a reason why attrition is affecting the military forces of many countries. Perhaps, today’s generation might feel that today’s missions are just not valid enough, not honourable enough to serve as reasons to kill and get killed. Perhaps, instead of lowering the standards to increase enrollment, it’s time to question the real reasons why there’s a problem with enrollment in the first place.