The U.S. Army is making dangerous calculations about how best to fill its ranks.

The Army fell 7,000 recruits short of its goal of 80,000 active-duty soldiers this year. The reasons are pretty obvious. It’s harder to recruit soldiers during a time of war when the chances for a foreign, combat deployment are much higher. Coupled with faltering support for the war in Iraq, it’s no wonder many would-be recruits are looking for other opportunities.

To help fill the gap, the Army has decided to relax its standards to expand the pool of people eligible to serve. Next year, about 10 percent of new recruits won’t be required to have a high school degree or have earned a General Equivalency Diploma. The Army will also accept volunteers who have scored poorly on the military’s mental aptitude exam.

In the world’s most sophisticated military, the lowered standards have the potential to threaten effectiveness. The United States military is the most technologically advanced and best-trained fighting force ever assembled. Much of that is directly related to the quality of the men and women who sign up for duty. It’s not enough for modern soldiers to be able to follow orders and shoot straight. Soldiers must be able to quickly adapt to strange places and cultures, to be sensitive to foreign populations and to master machines and weapons that grow more complicated every year.

There’s more to earning a high school diploma or GED than class work and study. It takes at least a minimum level of motivation and commitment to stick with it long enough to graduate.

The demands placed on soldiers require a high level of training and professionalism. The military shouldn’t whittle away at its greatest resource – its people.