The military continues to meet or exceed its recruiting and retention goals. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s easy to find and retain quality Soldiers. The military has had to come up with creative ways to attract more volunteers as the pool of eligible applicants dwindles. In 2005, the latest year that statistics are available, over a half million students in grades 9-12 dropped out of high school. Without a high school education, many future opportunities are closed to our nation’s youth. However, the Army is supporting a cause it hopes will reverse this trend call “BoostUp“.

Education has always been a top priority for the military. Most recruits are still required by law and regulation to have at least a high school diploma to join any branch of the military. The rest are required to have a general education degree (GED) to be eligible.

The goal of Boost is to encourage teenagers to speak with their friends about staying in school through graduation. The intent for these students to take an active role in their educations. A student is more likely to listen to a friend or someone else they trust than a recruiter, teacher, or other authority figure.

The way the site works is that go to BoostUp.org and click the “Send Boost” link. From there, you can send a link to some pre-selected teens who have decided that they want to turn their lives around and graduate or send one to someone you know is having difficulty getting through school and thinking of dropping out.

There is also a great link for parents who are worried their own children will drop out or have dropped out. The site gives parents advice on how to motivate children to stay in school. Parents, it all boils down to one thing: time. Studies have shown that students with parents that are ACTIVELY engaged in their child’s education and take an interest in their studies are more likely to stay in school through graduation. It just takes time!! Are you really too busy to spend time with your own children? You work tirelessly to feed, clothe, and keep them safe but they aren’t worth the effort of ensuring that they have a bright future by helping them with homework or just asking about their day?!

Check out the site and see for yourself what the Army is doing that directly contradicts what anti-war advocates want you to think about our nation’s military – that we’re uneducated, poor shlubs without a future except to be cannon fodder. Our Soldiers, Marines, Airmen and Sailors are so much more than that!