Prison industrial complex. Military industrial complex. It makes no difference to Dell. The company knows exactly where to look for a few able-bodies to drive its manufacturing lines.

Dell has joined the U.S. Army's PaYS (Partnership for Youth Success) program. It's one of the first hi-tech vendors to team with the military for this type of deal, which will see Dell grant interviews to Army personnel.

Only the best and the brightest can join the Dell team. The program limits PaYS enrollment to soldiers who score in the top half of their military entrance exam. We're guessing that means coughing really loud as opposed to whimpering when the doctor approaches with the rubber glove.

The Army characterizes this program as a triple win for truth, justice and the American way.

"We see this partnership as a win-win-win situation -- for Dell, for the Army, and for our nation," said Major General Michael D. Rochelle. "A young person who has served a tour of duty with the Army comes out with on-the-job skill training and experience, and demonstrates to American industries that they have learned a superlative work ethic. They are employees you can be proud of. We are also proud to partner with Dell in offering Army veterans the opportunity to interview with a premiere company."

A strong work ethic is required on the Dell factory floor where PCs and servers move at pace. We've seen the Round Rock factory and must admit, it's Dell's greatest engineering feat to date.

With any luck, the PaYS program pays better than the prison workforce formerly used by Dell to recycle PCs. Dell did a bit of soul searching and decided the chain gang might not be the best path to take. ®