Tom, my memory is the proof. I got to look into all the makeup of all institutions of the military during my service and even if it is just an impression, it was a pretty powerful one. If you notice, I never challenged your figures. They may be completely right. What they are is incomplete though from the experiences I had and I'd be willing to bet you that most anyone you talk to with a few years service will back me up.

Generally, the enlisted guys with the highest intelligence and social skills were either in the Air Force or Navy although both have their cannon fodder personnel. I'm not even including the Coast Guard in this since it's really not a military but a fairly elite police force. (However, the studies you posted certainly included the CG.) The Marines were a mixed bunch, some bright but it seemed many of those were zealots about patriotism and violence to the point that they were often a bit scary. The vast majority however were not the brightest bunch. If you equate it to a football team, they were the linemen. The Army was also a mixed bag but by far the majority of the grunts in it were downright stupid and punkish. You certainly had your support techs that had high enough entrance exams to get some technical training but often the Army skills you learned didn't equate well to outside jobs.

Now why is it Tom that you can't believe this? I can't imagine a way to quantify what I'm explaining here. You have to be smart enough to know that the military itself isn't going to point these things out when they're constantly pushing themselves on their recruiting quotas. Often the perception of IQ of people around you is as much guided by social adaptability as it is what year a person left school. I'm sure in your own high school class you had the real creeps and punks that somehow slid by and graduated and unleashed themselves upon the world. The fact that they got a slip of paper in no way diminished the fact that they were still punks and would have a hard time adapting to a corporate environment.

But here's a fact Tom. The military welcomes these losers because they have a need for quantity as much as they need quality. The interesting thing about boot camp in any of the services is that you're thrown in with the whole lot and you get to see the big picture makeup that gets distorted later as you go through training and move up in rank and responsibility.

Think about this a little instead of searching for statistics Tom. Why did you choose your path in life instead of becoming a rifle-carrying, mine-detecting point man in the Army fighting in some foreign land? My guess is that earning money in safety and being around all the time while raising a family seemed more logical than putting your life into chaos as the military certainly can do. Well, guess what Tom? That decision is a smart one made by the smartest of the people in the country. It has little to do with patriotism or devotion to your country. It's just common sense with a bit of survival instinct thrown in. The American dream as articulated throughout the centuries doesn't include slogging through a rice paddy or over a sand dune with bullets flying over your head.

The decision to commit ones self to service is therefore an illogical one unless other circumstances in one's life change the overall input to the equation. Your job prospects after high school seem to be flipping burgers or digging ditches. You're lacking discipline or direction and know you need a wakeup (that was my excuse. It wasn't worth it by the way). You're depressed and simply don't care what happens in your life. You're a spoiled and insecure bum that needs a strong organization like the military to babysit you.

Of course that doesn't describe every new recruit but I know it describes a lot. I heard all the stories from the people around me. Almost none did it exclusively because of a sense of honor or duty. There was almost always some failure in their life that preceded their choice.

Believe what you want. I'm not spending hours a day on the internet looking up facts and figures to support things I saw with my own eyes. If that feels like victory in the debate to you so be it. I certainly won't lose sleep over it.

Art