By Maurice Emery
Editor Emeritus
Local Army recruiters held a luncheon last Friday for 30 local educators and government officials. The Army’s goal was to join forces with them to help find ways to keep kids in school. The message from Station Commander SFC David DeCriscio, of the Roanoke Rapids Recruiting Station was keeping kids in school is important to the community and to the success of our Military.
Every person trying to enlist in the Army must take a Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test DeCriscio told the attendees. Finding people who can qualify for the entrance test is especially difficult in this area. There is a 10 percent higher failure rate in this area as compared to the rest of the nation. Eighty-three percent of local applicants in this area fail the entrance test. The national average is 73 percent. Simply put seventeen out of every twenty applicants from the area do not qualify to join the Army. The second highest reason applicants do not qualify is drug usage.
DeCriscio said the Army feels they have a way to help keep kids in school and then, upon graduation, hopefully increase the number of applicants who qualify for the Army. Getting kids to graduate is the key. The Army is proud of the fact that 98 percent of their enlistees have a high school education.
In today’s Army education has a high priority. Improving your education before you join, while you’re serving or after you leave the Army is important. They have several programs so there is one for everyone. They have even entered into the online education world.
One of the promotional points of the ASVAB is that it has the same format as the ACT or SAT tests so it is a good tune-up for taking the other test. To help assist students, parents and educators the Army offers a free web site where they can go for high quality test preparation. One of the contributors for the site curriculum is Kaplan Inc. they also design the SAT.
This is only one of the many education based programs the Army offers. They also offer the Concurrent Admissions Program (ConAP). Under this program the enlistee is linked to a college of their choice. This allows the enlistee to begin their college work while serving their enlistment and then transition into the college after their enlistment ends. They also offer the Montgomery GI Bill and the Army College Fund. The Montgomery GI Bill is a modification of the GI bill WW II, Korean War and Vietnam era veterans were offered.
If college does not appeal to you the army also offers guaranteed job training. They sign a contract with the enlistee to assure the job of choice. Unlike soldiers of the past who entered into the military within a few years of graduating from high school, today the average age of new enlistees are now 26.
Also on hand from the recruiting station were Assistant Station Commander & COI Coordinator SSG Darrick McGee, U. S. army Reserve Recruiter SSG Eddie Hughey and U.S. Army Recruiter & RPI Coordinator CPL Trey Fortson.
Together they explained the many ways the attendees could use the Army to help keep kids in school. The Army offers a program where educators and governmental officials can visit an Army base. While at the base they can talk with active duty soldiers and see how training and life is on the base.
The Army offers a High School Program Guide for students, parents and educators. You can also go for information on the testing assistance they offer.
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