YONGSAN GARRISON, Republic of Korea - If you are a Soldier, you may remember taking the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, which is administered to all who wish to enlist in the US military. You may also remember that you received a General Technical score. This score, which is based on the subcategories of Arithmetic Reasoning and Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension, plays a big role in determining the outcome of Soldiers' military careers.
A higher score allows Soldiers to have the freedom to apply for many career advancement opportunities (i.e. direct commissioning programs, Warrant Officer Program, Physician's Assistant program, to include changing your military occupational Specialty, while a lower score limits your ability).
For this reason, it is crucial for Soldiers to receive a high GT score.
According to Gene Baird, an education counselor at the Yongsan Education center, 110 is the minimum GT score required by the Army for most Military Occupational Specialties. Having this score raises the chance that Soldiers will be able to apply to the positions they most want to be in.
So what happens to Soldiers who have a low score? Fortunately, the Army allows Soldiers to retake the AFCT up to three times during their service in the Army. This means that Soldiers are not stuck to the GT score they first received when entering the Army. But what about Soldiers that feel pretty rusty after being away from Math and English classes for several years? One of the Army's solutions is the Peterson's Online Academic Skills Course, a two week program that helps Soldiers practice their Math and English skills.
Staff Sgt. Henry Tye, Staff Sgt. Ting Yi Lin, Spec. Steven Robert Avery, and Pfc. Manuel Juan Lopezreynoso were four Soldiers, who after using the Peterson's OASC, were able to receive scores ranging from 114 to 119, raising their scores by 8 to 19 points.
"This program works for everyone -- even people who are rusty from a lack of school," said Lin. "There are lots of opportunities for practice, there are helpful links that walk you through how to solve problems, and if none of that works, there are also the teachers who can help you out."
One thing that Avery reminded, however, was that personal effort was a crucial element that needed to be present. Although the Peterson's OASC provided helpful tools, it still required the dedication of each person in order to work.
"It's not only about the class it's also your work," Avery said. "It's about wanting career advancement, and doing something about it."
Lopez claimed that the only way students would increase their score is if they made sure they came each time and paid attention to what they were learning.
"If you are here to just play around, obviously it won't work," Lopez said. "But if you put your work into it, the amount of hours applied will make a difference."
So in the end, it boils down to the attitude of the Soldier. For a Soldier dedicated to improving their military career, the Peterson's OASC will help bring an increase, as it did for these four Soldiers.
"The reason why I am here is because I want to improve my military career," Tye said. "That's really all it's about."
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