The Army is again dramatically expanding its pre-basic training courses that were created to get young Americans into compliance with the service's enlistment standards, as those courses are becoming key to curtailing the ongoing recruiting slump.
The Future Soldier Preparatory Course's capacity will grow from nearly 18,000 to 23,500 this year, according to data provided by the service, more than making up the Army's recruiting shortfall in recent years — much of which has been attributed to young Americans having difficulty meeting the academic and body fat requirements to serve.
The prep courses started in 2022 and were an immediate success, graduating about 95% of attending soldiers who were then allowed to move on to basic training. So far, nearly 17,300 troops have graduated who otherwise would not have been qualified to join the Army. The Navy has since developed its own courses that follow the Army's lead.
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“Given ongoing resources for this training, we will continue to help more young men and women qualify to serve in America's Army,” Lt. Col. Brian Canny, commander of 1st Battalion, 46th Infantry Regiment, 197th Infantry Brigade, the unit that oversees the academic portion of the prep courses at Fort Moore, Georgia, said in a press release.
The courses also come with a relatively low cost, with the…
