We do, it's called the ASVAB. Problem is different job skills mean you get different minimums.
Grunts had to have a minimum of 32. That's basically "I don't remember how to do fractions, but I don't know what they are" level. Lowest passing score without a waiver I've ever seen was 28.
When I did the ASVAB in high school I opened up the booklet and saw that someone had circled all the correct answers in it. I did the first few just to double check ,and they were right, so I just said fuck it, copied it all out of the book. Got damn near 100 in every category. Figured they’d make me a general or some shit if I ever joined
"Sir! Take a look at this!"
"Why the hell are you yelling, lieutenant?"
"Look! Not only did he bubble the answers completely inside the lines, he didn't eat the crayons when he finished!"
"Mother of God..."
It's kinda weird. All the books and stuff are fine, but they are significantly easier than the real test. The recruiter's have a kind of practice test that they use which is mostly harder questions. The actual ASVAB turned out to be somewhere in the middle. I felt like only the recruiter's version prepared me for the basic stuff (like mathematics and the like), nothing really prepared me for any of the spacial or engineering stuff.
Actually cheating on the ASVAB won't do much for you. For fields like the Navy's nuclear field, a high ASVAB just means you get to take the NFQT (Nuclear Field Qualification Test) which is harder and usually you taking it alone, hard to cheat. Even after the tests you still have to go to the schools and pass the courses. I was a navy nuke and I can say I agree that field is one of the most difficult classroom curriculum in the country (including most colleges).
In fairness, we liberated Asia from the Japanese, and most of those fuckers could barely write anything but their own name. Sometimes it's about just being smart enough to follow simple instructions.
Well, that's the thing about a military grunt/cannon fodder: They need to be smart enough to follow orders, but not smart enough to want to go around questioning them.
Maybe in the 1800's. Nowadays, it's actually pretty important to for soldiers to think on their feet.
It's actually a pretty common trope within military strategy where the unit on it's own is utterly destroyed because it lost communication with a higher command element, and was unable to adapt in any way without orders.
I remember hearing about it. From what I was told from the people who took it, it was more about what kind of skills and promotions would be available more than for disqualifying people.
Except there's still a minimum. Yeah, mostly anyone can pass, that's actually what the score means. 32 means a 32nd percentile. As in your score is above only the 32nd percentile of people did worse than you. Meaning 68% of test takers did better than you.
The absolute vast majority should pass... but there are some that do not.
We do, it's called the ASVAB. Problem is different job skills mean you get different minimums.
Grunts had to have a minimum of 32. That's basically "I don't remember how to do fractions, but I don't know what they are" level. Lowest passing score without a waiver I've ever seen was 28.
When I did the ASVAB in high school I opened up the booklet and saw that someone had circled all the correct answers in it. I did the first few just to double check ,and they were right, so I just said fuck it, copied it all out of the book. Got damn near 100 in every category. Figured they’d make me a general or some shit if I ever joined
"Sir! Take a look at this!"
"Why the hell are you yelling, lieutenant?"
"Look! Not only did he bubble the answers completely inside the lines, he didn't eat the crayons when he finished!"
"Mother of God..."
that made my morning you glorious bastard
It's kinda weird. All the books and stuff are fine, but they are significantly easier than the real test. The recruiter's have a kind of practice test that they use which is mostly harder questions. The actual ASVAB turned out to be somewhere in the middle. I felt like only the recruiter's version prepared me for the basic stuff (like mathematics and the like), nothing really prepared me for any of the spacial or engineering stuff.
Actually cheating on the ASVAB won't do much for you. For fields like the Navy's nuclear field, a high ASVAB just means you get to take the NFQT (Nuclear Field Qualification Test) which is harder and usually you taking it alone, hard to cheat. Even after the tests you still have to go to the schools and pass the courses. I was a navy nuke and I can say I agree that field is one of the most difficult classroom curriculum in the country (including most colleges).
>don't know what fractions are
>can still wield a rifle
I know "crayon-eating Marines" is a meme, but goddamn.
In fairness, we liberated Asia from the Japanese, and most of those fuckers could barely write anything but their own name. Sometimes it's about just being smart enough to follow simple instructions.
Well, that's the thing about a military grunt/cannon fodder: They need to be smart enough to follow orders, but not smart enough to want to go around questioning them.
Maybe in the 1800's. Nowadays, it's actually pretty important to for soldiers to think on their feet.
It's actually a pretty common trope within military strategy where the unit on it's own is utterly destroyed because it lost communication with a higher command element, and was unable to adapt in any way without orders.
I remember hearing about it. From what I was told from the people who took it, it was more about what kind of skills and promotions would be available more than for disqualifying people.
Not on the promotions, and it only measured the possibility of skills.
It's mostly about the military trying to figure out where they can place you in a job role.
OK. So it's for job placement rather than for disqualifying bad applicants and placing good ones, like a test everyone should be able to pass.
Except there's still a minimum. Yeah, mostly anyone can pass, that's actually what the score means. 32 means a 32nd percentile. As in your score is above only the 32nd percentile of people did worse than you. Meaning 68% of test takers did better than you.
The absolute vast majority should pass... but there are some that do not.