Pentagon Set to Allow Calculator Use on Military Entrance Exam as Recruiting Slumps::The change would put the ASVAB on par with how test-taking has evolved in the past decade, with calculators being widely used in math classes and on college entrance exams such as the ACT and SAT.
Uh, why wouldn’t they? Calculators check a lot of boxes that militaries care about: cheap, light, compact, durable, easy to manufacture, easy to use. I’d think that they’d be standard issue for any personnel regularly tasked with doing important calculations under logistically difficult scenarios.
Setting that aside… you are aware that modern battle tactics are completely, hopelessly reliant on battery operated devices, right? If a unit gets unintentionally separated from the grid long enough to start running out of power, there will be far greater fish to fry than a few botched arithmatic problems.