Kerry's Mistake: U.S. Soldiers Did Do Their Homework, Data Show
"You know education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well, and if you don’t you get stuck in Iraq." So said Senator John Kerry (D-MA) on Monday (video), and the response from those who less inclined to take potshots at U.S. troops has been swift.
We do not wade into purely political matters, but here there is a policy dimension. The composition of our armed forces is an issue of great interest to Americans and an integral part of America's overall defense strategy.
For several years, Heritage economist Tim Kane has been researching the characteristics of the men and women who join the U.S. armed services. And he released his latest, most comprehensive report on Friday. Convenient, with respect to the current contretemps, no?
Apparently, Sen. Kerry did not read Tim's report over the weekend. If he had, he would have learned that America's troops aren't the dimwits and dullards he painted them to be. Here's a bit of what the data show (with emphasis added):
[I]n the most recent edition of Population Representation in the Military Services, the Department of Defense reported that the mean reading level of 2004 recruits is a full grade level higher than that of the comparable youth population. Fewer than 2 percent of wartime recruits have no high school credentials....The military defines a “high quality” recruit as one who has scored above the 50th percentile on the [Armed Forces Qualifying Test] and has a high school diploma. The percentage of high-quality recruits has increased from 57 percent in 2001 to 64 percent in 2005 (67 percent in 2004), indicating not only that the military is accepting intelligent and well-educated recruits, but also that the representation of these recruits has increased strongly since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
This table presents a useful summary of the data. Note that the high school graduation rate among recruits exceeded 96 percent, compared to about 80 percent in the general population.
American men and women out in the field have gotten wind of Sen. Kerry's remarks, and they are not happy. A friend and colleague of ours who is now serving in Iraq sends this:
A number of us here at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad take great exception to these comments. There are many highly successful people here who have left their "comfortable jobs" and families back in the U.S. to be a part of something important.As for education, just in my office there are three Ph.D.s, a Harvard MBA, and a junior staffer who will be heading to Harvard or Stanford next year to start an MBA program once done here. Down the hall from me is a highly successful oil geologist (and former prof. of geology), an electricity economist, a former investment banker, and a broad range of international economic, financial, and utilities consultants. We're all here to help rebuild Iraq, not take cheap shots from those who just want to score political points a week before the election.
Our friend asked that we write in response to Kerry's rhetoric to present the facts and correct Sen. Kerry's errors. Well, Kirk, we hope this does it.
