In an address before the VFW on August 23, 1966, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara announced commencement of a program to accept men formerly rejected for military service. In October 1966, DoD initiated Project 100,000 to accept a portion of the men who were being disqualified for military service under previous mental standards and some men with physical defects which were correctable within a short period of time. They were called New Standards Men.

The purposes of the program were:
-Broaden the opportunities for enlistment, thereby reducing draft calls. About 55%of the New Standards Men were volunteers.
-Broaden the manpower pool subject to the draft
-Upgrade the qualifications of disadvantaged youth to prepare them for more productive civilian lives. DoD was convinced that the training and experience these men would receive would not only make them satisfactory servicemen, but would also prepare them for more productive lives when they returned to civilian life.