Army Helps Soldiers Get GEDs

Facing tremendous difficulty in finding qualified recruits to fill its ranks, the United States Army began operation today of The Army Preparatory School at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, to assist new Army enlistees with earning their General Equivalency Diplomas before they ship out for their initial military training.

Fort Jackson, located in historic Columbia, South Carolina, is the Army's largest initial military training installation, providing instruction to more than 50,000 Army recruits each year. In addition to the fort's already substantial training load, the new preparatory school will train more than 50 new soldiers each week in academic disciplines designed to help them pass the test for their high school equivalency diploma. Those who pass the GED test are allowed to continue their military processing by entering basic combat training and advanced individual training, while those who do not pass are discharged and relieved of their commitment to the Army. The preparatory school is staffed by an Army cadre of nearly twenty personnel. New recruits are able to attempt the GED at any time during the course of their instruction and cadre members focus their academic efforts on those areas where the new enlistees are most deficient.

Of course, since this is a military school run by the Army, academics are not the only focus of the curriculum. New soldiers also work on physical fitness and military discipline in preparation for the start of their Army service. The full curriculum is designed to maximize the potential for success for all attending recruits. The program is scheduled to provide instruction for new recruits for a period of four weeks.

According to the Army, if the program proves successful, it could potentially spread to other Army posts within the continental United States. Likely candidates for expansion include other installations that are already host to initial military training activities. The program will be continually evaluated for effectiveness with the eventual goal of developing a full high school diploma granting school program.

The creation of the Army preparatory school is a recognition that recruiting qualified enlistees continues to be a challenge. Typically, very few high school graduates meet all enlistment criteria, and repeated deployments resulting from two ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan mean that the Army has a relatively small pool of potential candidates to recruit from. The new preparatory school may help the Army increase its recruiting numbers by providing a new means for otherwise qualified candidates to earn their high school equivalency document and to serve their country in uniform.

Sources: Fort Jackson, Army Posture Statement