Some 10-12 years ago, I used to teach a simple CompSci 102 course on a military base while in grad school. A drill sergeant taking this class was a veritable fountain of stories of military mishaps; one that he liked to repeat was that before Thanksgiving break, he would tell his new recruits that they would be tested for drugs when they came back on base, and encouraged them not to indulge. And when they came back, a non-trivial percentage would invariably be kicked out due to drug usage.

To me, this said more about how casual users think about drugs than about what they believe regarding Army regulations; a disparity between these outlooks that the Army (represented imperfectly by this drill sergeant) was unwilling to budge on.

Agree, it should be about substance abuse, not have you ever tried drug x (even for hard drugs). Like alcohol abuse should also make someone ineligible.

Less convinced about the absence of decent job in a country where unemployment is at an historical low. There might be an absence of jobs in a particular city, but people can (and should) move then.

You...know that moving isn't something you can just do at a whim, right? You need to find a place to move to, which takes time, money, and energy?

If you're unemployed and dirt-poor, moving is not likely to be something that's easy for you to do.