How low will they go?
About 17 percent of the first-time recruits, or about 13,600, were accepted under waivers for various medical, moral or criminal problems, including misdemeanor arrests or drunk driving.

WASHINGTON The U.S. Army recruited more than 2,600 soldiers under new lower aptitude standards this year, which helped the service beat its goal of 80,000 recruits in the throes of an unpopular war and mounting casualties.

Last year the Army missed its recruitment target by the widest margin since 1979, which triggered a boost in the number of recruiters, increased bonuses and lowered standards.

The Army recruited 80,635 soldiers, roughly 7,000 more than last year. Of those, about 70,000 were first-time recruits who had never served before.

According to statistics obtained by The Associated Press, 3.8 percent of the first-time recruits scored below certain aptitude levels. In previous years, the Army had allowed only 2 percent of its recruits to have low aptitude scores. That limit was increased last year to 4 percent, the maximum allowed by the Defense Department.

Full article at International Herald Tribune