The U.S. Congress has directed that the military can’t accept Category V recruits or more than 4 percent of recruits from Category IV. No more than 10 percent of new recruits may have a high school equivalency certificate rather than a diploma. The military also requires at least 60 percent of all new recruits to fall into Categories I, II, or III A. If your score falls into Category III B or anywhere in Category IV, your chances of being able to enlist are smaller (especially if other Category IV recruits beat you to it).
Depending on whether you have a high school diploma or a passing score on your state’s approved high school equivalency test (such as the GED), the military has different AFQT score requirements. Check out Table 1-4.
TABLE 1-4 AFQT Score Requirements
| Branch of Service | Minimum AFQT Score with High School Diploma | Minimum AFQT Score with High School Equivalency Test Certificate | Special Circumstances |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Force | 36 | 50 | In very rare cases, if you possess special skills (such as speaking a foreign language that the Air Force considers critical), the minimum AFQT score can be waived. The Air Force allows less than 1 percent of its enlistees each year to have a high school equivalency test certificate instead of a high school diploma. |
| Army | 31 | 50 | The Army sometimes approves waivers for applicants with high school equivalency test certificates and AFQT scores below 31. |
| Coast Guard | 36 | Varies | If you have a high school equivalency certificate, the minimum AFQT score doesn’t apply. If your ASVAB line scores qualify you for a specific job and you’re willing to enlist in that job, the recruiter may be able to put in a waiver. Very few people (about 5 percent) each year are allowed to enlist with a high school equivalency certificate. |
| Marine Corps | 31 | 50 | You must have at least 15 college credits to enlist with a high school equivalency certificate. |
| Navy | 31 | 50 | If you enlist with a high school equivalency certificate, you must have 15 college credits. |
The minimum scores required in each branch can — and do — change frequently because the military has different needs at different times. For example, at the height of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Army accepted recruits with GEDs who scored 31 on the AFQT.
Checking out the military’s AFQT requirements for special programs
Achieving the minimum required AFQT score established by an individual branch gets your foot in the door, but the higher you score, the better. For example, if you need a medical or criminal history waiver in order to enlist, the military personnel who make those decisions are more likely to take a chance on you if they think you’re a pretty smart cookie than they would be if you barely made the minimum qualifying score.
Individual branches of the military tie many special enlistment programs to minimum AFQT scores:
Army: The Army requires a minimum AFQT score of 50 to qualify for most of its incentive programs, such as a monetary enlistment bonus, the college-loan repayment program, and the Army College Fund.
Marine Corps: Like the Army, the Marine Corps requires a minimum AFQT score of 50 for most of its incentive programs, including the Geographic Area of Choice Program, the Marine Corps College Fund, and enlistment bonuses.
Navy: Applicants who want to participate in the Navy College Fund or college-loan repayment program need to achieve a minimum score of 50.
MILITARY OPENS COMBAT ROLES TO WOMEN
Jobs that were traditionally open only to male members of the U.S. Armed Forces are now open to women — but it took 378 years for the military to change the way it does business.
The first militias in the New World began organizing in 1636, and men were the only ones who served. Even after June 14, 1775, the official “birthday” of the U.S. Army, the military denied women the opportunity to enlist. However, females sometimes traveled with the troops to act as nurses, laundresses, and cooks if they could prove their usefulness to troop commanders.
History occasionally reveals a woman who disguised herself as a man to join the fight between 1776 and 1948. (During the Civil War, a nominal number of females served as spies while others continued to fight on the front lines disguised as men.)
Congress passed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act on June 12, 1948, which gave women the right to enlist during peacetime and to collect veteran benefits.
Sixty-seven years later, on December 3, 2015, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter ordered the full integration of women in the Armed Forces. Under that order, all military occupational specialties are now open to women — including ground combat roles and special operations, such as Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, and Air Force Special Tactics.
New, gender-neutral job titles replaced traditional titles such as “artilleryman” and “reconnaissance man.” Now those jobs are referred to as artillery technician and reconnaissance Marine.
Do-Over: Retaking the ASVAB
An AFQT score between 0 and 9 tells the military that you’re not trainable,