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Related Resources • Enlistment Standards • What the Recruiter Never Told You • Joining the Military

As with the other services, one must have a high school diploma, or a GED to enlist in the United States Army. Even so, the Army only allows about 15 percent of their total enlistments each year to have a GED (See Military ASVAB/Education Minimum Levels).

However, the Army has a special enlistment program, specifically designed for disadvantaged youths who have neither a high school diploma, nor a GED. It's called the Army GED Plus Enlistment Program.

The GED Plus Program enables applicants who currently do not possess a high school diploma or high school equivalency certificate to be sponsored by the Army to obtain a GED for enlistment purposes. This program is available only in certain areas (mostly inter-city areas where most disadvantaged youths live) and for limited numbers. In order to qualify, you must:

• Be 18 years old and withdrawn from high school for at least one year
• Not be able to return to high school to fulfill your high school diploma requirement
• Must be in good moral standing (ie, requires no moral waivers).
• Score 50 or higher on the Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test
• Score 46 or higher on the Assessment of Individual Motivation (AIM) test
• Possess a letter of enrollment into a GED program with a start and completion date
• Not require a Drug and Alcohol waiver