Ready to Serve?
February 7, 2011 by Irene Sege
Gen. Shalikashvili
Three-quarters of young Americans are not qualified to apply for the military, a Pentagon official told a congressional hearing in 2009 – because they are physically or mentally unfit, have a criminal record or lack a high school diploma. To General John M. Shalikashvili, US Army (Ret.), former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, poor education is the major culprit. And the solution lies in expanding children’s access to high-quality early education.
“The situation is so serious that nearly 200 retired generals and admirals are calling on Congress to consider major educational reform, with a special emphasis on increased investments in high-quality early education, Shalikashvili writes in a recent op-ed column in USA Today. “Why early education? Because research shows that