quote:
I guess it's all about supply and demand and that's driven by the economy and civilian job opportunities.
Indeed it is. With Congress cutting the active duty strength of the Marine Corps by 5%, the economy in the toilet, and a better advertising campaign than J. Walter Thompson had done in the previous 20 years the Marine Corps is "pooled out" for about seven months i.e. if a highly qualified (mental/moral/physical/academic) individual walks into a recruiter's office today and wants to ship to boot camp as soon as possible he's a about a seven month wait unless someone ahead of him drops for some reason and he's ready to go on a moment's notice. Back in the mid 1990s losing a shipper could be a catastrophe because the poor was only about two weeks deep at the recruiting station where I was assigned and getting quality applicants was a real challenge.
Consequent to the extremely strong recruiting market (the best since the all volunteer force began in 1978) enlistment waivers are not necessary for the armed forces to obtain the enlistees that they need and the quality indicators (ASVAB, physical fitness, etc) have never been better. No longer do Marine recruiters worry about getting a poolee to do three pull-ups before he ships to boot camp. They have the luxury of telling poolees who can't do 10 pull ups that they are at risk of getting bumped back until they are stronger or faster.
Within the Marine Corps the strong recruiting market has also made the former Commandant's crackdown on tattoos easy to enforce. No applicant with ink on his or her skin that is visible in PT gear will be allowed to enlist. The pop culture trend of sleeve tattoos had a very short life in the Marine Corps because those who had already had them were prohibited from getting any more on penalty of a discharge for the"convenience of the government" and their current tattoos were photographed and archived so that if they continued the nasty habit of inking every square inch of exposed skin they were discharged. Even those Marines who have been grandfathered for tattoos are restricted from the special duty assignments (drill field, recruiting duty, MSG) that assist one in being competitive for promotion beyond SSgt.
The same is true of the Commandant's crackdown on Marines who exceed height/weight standards (even by a pound). There used to be a lot of leeway given for a Marine to lose a few pounds and get back within standards without a long term impact to his or her career. Now, one weigh-in above the weight limit where the body fat computation by the neck-waist tape measurement method indicates an excessive percentage of body fat is nearly a career ender because it requires an immediate adverse counseling entry by the commander. Woe be to the commander or 1stSgt who tries to hide a good Marine with a few extra pounds because the IG or commanding general's inspection program usually finds the overweight Marine and it reflects very poorly on the commander.
Had the recruiting market not been so strong there is no way that these policies could have been enforced to strictly without adversely impacting our end strength (total number on duty on the last day of the fiscal year). It's a good time to be a recruiter and a bad time to be a marginally qualified applicant or Marine.