The U.S. military could soon start offering community college students a new path to enlistment, thanks to a legislative provision making its way through the Senate. If signed into law as part of the annual defense policy bill, it could be one tool to help reverse a historic recruiting crisis that threatens to hollow the armed forces for years to come. The proposed Enlisted Training Corps would mirror the Reserve Officers' Training Corps units that have existed for more than 100 years at four-year colleges and universities. Just as ROTC provides students one option for commissioning as officers once they earn a bachelor's degree, the Enlisted Training Corps would prepare students to join the enlisted force without sending them to boot camp.
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