Military eligibility and participation in the All-volunteer Force

The Wonderful Wizard was truly a wiz if ever a wiz there was. Everyone has a brain. Some may even have the capacity to think great thoughts. But, in the final analysis, people are just folks, and it doesn't matter a hoot whether your head is stuffed with grey matter or little bundles of straw. The main mark of distinction is the educational equivalent of a red badge of courage: pieces of paper with foreign words, lots of loops and curls, gold seals, and impressive signatures. In some ways, the leaders of this country's modern military share a perspective not unlike that of the Great and Powerful Oz--and the similarities even extend beyond a mutual attachment to the color green. For, in the world of the military's policymakers and data analysts, in the realm of placement officers and recruiters alike, diplomas and degrees hold an almost mystical property. With diploma in hand, accompanied by a reasonably high score on the standardized entry test, the fabled strawman himself could enlist in any one of the Armed Services with favorable opportunities for technical training, special benefits, and career advancement. Moreover, because the amiable Scarecrow is a bonafide recipient of the treasured document, he stands a much better than average chance of fulfilling his initial term of enlistment in praiseworthy fashion.