You and what army?

William Arkin:

The Army once again missed its benchmarks for recruiting in 2007. And, as it struggles to fill the ranks in wartime, it's lowering the "quality" of recruits it will accept.

That sets our Armed Forces up for long-term problems on the battlefield. But it also speaks to a far greater question about our country's willingness to truly support our troops.

A new study from the National Priorities Project, a Massachusetts-based research organization, found that the percentage of recruits entering the Army with a high school diploma dropped to a new low in 2007 and was nearly 20 percentage points shy of the Army's goal. The study additionally found that average scores on the army qualification test are dropping.

...The National Priorities study underscored that lower and middle-income families are supplying the lion's share of recruits. Our military is increasingly less representative of our society. And I think one of the drivers behind that trend is that Americans are fundamentally uncomfortable with the tenor of the war against terrorism.

The flag waiving and the slogans and the eye-watering reverence for the troops is still on display. But the patriotism is mostly hollow. The country is clearly not behind the kinds of wars being waged to defeat terrorism. And increasing the size of the Army or throwing more money at the Pentagon is not going to address this fundamental problem.