Drop-off in high school graduates in last two years- 13 %- Hmmm. the Pentagon standards are supposed to be no less than 9 out of 10 in the army without a HS diploma. But then, Bush the Escalation Engineer wants more troops in Iraq. How to get them?

"More recruiters, more bonuses and drop standards," he [Charles Mosko] said, "and then wink-wink at some of the green card holders."

I've already read on a number of occasions how the military continues to lower the bar to bring in more people to fight, like this entry from 2005 I wrote about before.

The non-profit National Priorities Project said Friday that about seven of 10 recruits who entered the Army in 2006 had high school diplomas. Dropout figures provided by the Army differed, but were similar.

"While President Bush talks about expanding the troops to fight the war in Iraq, the Army is already going after kids who haven't had the privilege of finishing high school," said Anita Dancs, the National Priority Project's research director.

The drop-off in high school graduates wearing the uniform, 13 percentage points down from two years ago according to the group, raises questions about the quality of recruits the Army signs up if President Bush increases the size of U.S. forces.

What's interesting is that all that money that's been spent on PR, to try to convince parents to cough up Little Johnny or Susie doesn't appear to be working.

Iraq has become a recruiting nightmare for the Army, which not only targets youths in high school and college but also uses some of the $100 million or so it spends each year on TV spots to reach out to skeptical parents.

Called "influencers" by military recruiters, parents are playing a stronger role than ever in the decision to join amid the drumbeat of daily bombings in Baghdad and the rising GI body count