Raising the Bar - The Evolution of Mental Acuity and Intelligence Standards for the All Volunteer Force

Abstract

Every service member, with few exceptions, can remember taking the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test as part of their decision to enlist or seek a commission in the United States military. As an all-volunteer force, the recruitment and screening of prospective Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines are central to the health of the overall military. This study examines the human capital that the Marine Corps recruits from communities across the country and forges into new Marines. It does so by first outlining the conditions that brought about the end of the draft in the early 1970's. It then analyze the development and subsequent validation of universal mental acuity and intelligence testing standards in the 1980s and 1990s. Finally, it addresses the lessons learned by the Marine Corps concerning enlistment quality during combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in the early 2000s and concludes with proposed areas for further study concerning the future operating environment as defined in the Marine Operating Concept published in 2017.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 29, 2018
Accession Number
AD1177041

Entities

People

  • Daniel E. Grainger

Organizations

  • Marine Corps University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Engineered Resilient Systems
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Business Administration
  • Department Of Defense
  • Enlisted Personnel
  • Governments
  • Law
  • Lessons Learned
  • Management Personnel
  • Military Science
  • New York
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Personnel Selection
  • Psychological Tests
  • Recruiting
  • Standards
  • Training
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Brain and Cognitive Science; Experimental Psychology; Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Naval Personnel Management
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.