Higher test scores help explain rise in Army recruitment

The Army is having an easier time enlisting new soldiers in the Philadelphia area. Recruitment numbers are up 30 percent over last year.

The Army is having an easier time enlisting new soldiers in the Philadelphia area. Recruitment numbers are up 30 percent over last year.

Transcript:
Army officials say it’s not just the poor economy that’s led to the increase. Lieutenant Colonel Robert Tuczak is in charge of Army recruiting for the mid-Atlantic region. He says the Army is working harder to get potential recruits in physical and mental shape. That includes helping them pass the Army’s tests.

Tuczak: “They tried something in life, they left high school, they went to community college, or they wanted to work a little bit, they want to work for their parents but then they realize they want to chart their own course in life. Well, they havent read a book or solved for X in awhile. So they go to take this test they think, oh it’s just the Army, but then they take the test and they fail it.”

Tuczak says the Army has responded with free online test preparation courses and tutors. At the new Army Experience Center in Franklin Mills Mall, potential recruits can take courses that allow them to get their high school degrees. Tuczak says, as a result, their test scores are also up.

Listen:
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