That’s not quite accurate according to several friends who served in OIF/Afghanistan as NCOs/company grade officers. Recruitment standards WERE LOWERED compared to the mid-late '90s when they enlisted/graduated from academy/ROTC/OCS in the mid-late '90s. They had to be to meet suddenly increasing manpower requirements during those wars.
However, the bar was still well-above that set during the days of the Vietnam War when recruitment standards even for junior officers were lowered to the point Army OCS in that period accepted a draftee who struggled with mostly failing/abysmal grades through one year of community college, drifted through several service/retail/odd jobs, and had a reputation among peers as not being the sharpest tool in the shed.
The last assessment ended up following this particular officer when he joined his unit according to testimony from soldiers/NCOs in the platoon he commanded…including their witness accounts of his company commander constantly berating him in front of the soldiers/NCOs for being a screwup and lacking common sense. Testimony which was conducted as a result of the My Lai Massacre for which he was held responsible for by US military court martial before having his sentence reduced to a few years of house arrest at the behest of President Nixon. Yes, I’m referring to former Second Lieutenant William Calley.