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Believe it or not, our national security in 2026 is heavily dependent on what is happening in early care and education today.
As retired Generals of Mission Readiness, Military Leaders for Kids, we are pleased the New Mexico Legislature passed budget bills that take an important step toward ensuring the long-term strength of our armed forces. We are confident that Gov. Susana Martinez will follow suit when she signs the final version later this month.
Department of Defense data indicates that 75 percent of all 17 to 24 year olds cannot meet the minimum requirements to qualify for military service due to poor academic achievement, obesity or criminal records.
These alarming trends do not set well for the future of an all volunteer force.
Studies of high quality early education programs show they are among the most proven interventions in helping young people enter school ready to learn, succeed academically and graduate with the skills needed to be well educated, contributing citizens. The military needs high school graduates who have reading, math and problem-solving skills not only to pass the military’s entrance exam, but to staff the ranks of a technologically sophisticated, 21st century force.
This is of particular concern here in New Mexico as 37 percent of our students do not graduate from high school on time and 28 percent of those with high school diplomas fail to qualify for enlistment because they cannot score high enough on the military exam for math, reading and problem solving.
Additional support for early learning programs is critical because almost two-thirds of New Mexico’s 4-year-olds are not served by a public pre-kindergarten program.
The retired Generals of Mission Readiness strongly support the governor’s goal of ensuring every child can read by the 3rd grade. It is paramount that we give the kids the basic literacy tools before the 3rd grade. This is why early care and education programs from birth through age 5 are a critical component of school reform.
Long research studies conclusively show that early care and education programs with high quality ratings can significantly boost graduation rates, deter kids from crime and reduce the likelihood of holding a child back in school.
An analysis of 123 dissimilar studies over four decades of early education research discovered that by the 3rd grade, about one-third of the achievement gap of reading and other skills can be closed by high-quality early education.
North Carolina’s state pre-k program has improved young children’s reading skills. A preliminary evaluation suggests that exposure to pre-k increased 3rd grade reading and math scores by an amount equivalent to two months of extra instruction. Also in North Carolina, participants in the Abecedarian home visiting and pre-k program proved twice as likely to attend college.
Those not served by the program were 75 percent more likely to be held back in school.
An evaluation of New Jersey’s pre-k program found that children who attended the program had significant language and literacy gains compared to similar children who did not attend. A 2009 follow-up study found that students who had attended pre-k continued to outperform their peers on language and literacy through 2nd grade.
Make no mistake: Our military is the best in the world and represented by some of the finest young men and women America has to offer.
However, our military was not built overnight.
With our national security in mind, we urge the governor to sign into law the full amount of increased investments – passed by the Legislature with bipartisan support through House Bill 2 and Senate Bill 113 – for pre-k and child care so that more kids start school with basic literacy skills to enhance their reading by 3rd grade and graduate on time from high school to be able to pursue a successful career in the military service or of their choice.
Maj. Gen. Melvyn Montano is a former adjutant general of the New Mexico National Guard.
