"Army recruiters now have a wider pool to find future soldiers in. The Army is reaching out to a slice of America's youth long ineligible to serve: non-high school graduates who don't have a General Equivalency Diploma."
"If an individual has been out of high school for at least six months, can pass a physical exam and the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, he or she may be eligible for help getting a GED."
The Bush Administration has been telling us we have plenty of troops, that National Guard strength is perfectly adequate for national emergencies, and that if US military commanders asked for more bodies, they would get them.
Since we have all the bodies we need, the change must be an altruistic move designed to widen the opportunities for those prematurely mustered out of our high schools. Perhaps this is an amendment to No Child Left Behind!