Military stress card

The military stress card, a wallet-size card incorporating a liquid crystal thermometer, is the subject of debate whether or not its use by United States Armed Forces recruits is an urban legend. According to Snopes.com and Stars and Stripes, stress cards can not be used by recruits in boot camp to halt training. But according to Time magazine, it was issued for this purpose by the Navy for recruits heading to boot camp at RTC Great Lakes. Whether urban legend or not, the purported use of them in boot camp is cited as evidence of the softening of U.S. military forces, degrading readiness to fight and even causing post-traumatic stress disorder in those who are exposed to the psychological rigors of combat.

Background
The stress cards were said to have appeared during the Clinton administration (1993-2001). Though all branches of the armed services met or exceeded their recruiting goals through this period, recruit quality fell from the peak reached in 1992. "High quality" enlisted recruits, defined as having both a high school diploma and an above average Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) score were far lower in the 1970s, rising though the 1993 establishment of the first minimum requirement for recruit quality, which was met every year since, in spite of dropping in subsequent years. Possible explanations offered in hindsight were waning public enthusiasm for the military in the years immediately following the successful Gulf War (1990-1991), which coincided with decreasing unemployment and better civilian pay relative to the military; more high school graduates attending college instead of enlisting; and a perceived drop in quality of life and job satisfaction in the military. Even at their lowest point in 2000, these statistical measures of recruit quality remained well above those of the 1970s and early to mid 1980s.