From the Minot Daily News: "Military officials said last week that up to 75 percent of today's young people are not fit to join the armed services, either due to lack of physical fitness or criminal records, or because they haven't graduated from high school."... "In North Dakota, that would mean more than 70,000 young adults. North Dakota is doing somewhat better than the national average. However, North Dakota still has 17 percent of its students not graduating on time, 26 percent of its young people ages 10-17 overweight or obese, and one in every 63 adults on probation, in jail, in prison, or on parole.
The report was issued by a group of retired military generals and admirals who formed an organization called MISSION: READINESS. They said their goal is to support policies to get young people off to the right start. They are alarmed by the lack of people fit for duty and see it as a national security issue, particularly in a country that relies on all-volunteer armed services."
Imagine that this the U.S. and not North Dakota. If only 25% of students can qualify for the military because of being out of shape, bad grades, a criminal record etc, this doesn't look good for the military. It also doesn't look good for other professions as well- fire fighters, ploice officers and other jobs that need good, honest and well fit employees.
But at least the military is doing something about it: "The report was issued by a group of retired military generals and admirals who formed an organization called MISSION: READINESS. They said their goal is to support policies to get young people off to the right start. They are alarmed by the lack of people fit for duty and see it as a national security issue, particularly in a country that relies on all-volunteer armed services.
Michael Burt, head of the U.S. Air Force Junior ROTC program at Minot High School, said Monday he thinks the number of young people unfit for service is far lower in North Dakota than in other states, but he still sees some cause for concern.
"We have a lot of overweight kids (in the country)," said Burt, who said that some high school students attend schools without a requirement that they take physical education. In Minot, students are required to take phy. ed throughout school. Many physical education teachers assess their students' fitness at the beginning and the end of the year so they can measure their progress." http://www.minotdailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/533999.html?nav=5010
With 75% of potential canidates for the military being disqualified before they even step in the door, it raises 2 possibilites: 1. Lower the standards of the military or 2. Realize we may not be able to meet military recruiting goals.
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I agree that these are problems, overall. I spent 21 years on active duty with the Army, 1964 thru 1985, serving everywhere from combat units to the Chief's office in the Pentagon.
ReplyDeleteAnother real problem is the lowered academic standards, especially in public schools. Just finding a recruit who could figure out how to use a map & compass was difficult, and the appalling lack of both English and Math skills made it tough to find people for disciplines that actually needed writing or basic math skills. Most of them couldn't multiply or divide without a calculator in their hand.
However, the obesity should not be much of an issue. I had spent most of my life as the Fat Kid, and at only 5'7" and about 250 lb I was pretty obese at 18, when I enlisted. At first they refused to take me, but since I had already been nominated as a West Point alternate and had passed their very tough physical test, they were forced to let me in.
I went into Basic Training at 250 lb, and graduated two months later weighing 135 lb, and in fabulous shape. Who knew there was a bodybuilder hidden inside all those layers of fat? When I went home after Basic, literally NO ONE recognized me. My mother said she thought it was some other soldier coming up the street to tell her I was delayed for some reason -- until I got close enough that the face was familiar, and the name tag gave it away.
When they control your activity and diet, obesity is unlikely to last long.
No question it is much easier to manufacture a soldier if you have better raw material to work with, but the Army has been getting guys into condition for a long time.
My only complaint in that area is the lowering of many of the training standards, especially for women. It's not that they COULDN'T meet the same physical tests as men have been doing for a century or so -- skinny and fat guys have had to work hard to do the same thing. But the military caved in to the Feminist Pimps and has been letting them skate for decades, to the point that it's going to cost lives eventually, such as when women sailors can't drag a burned buddy to safety out of a shipboard fire. There is a specific reason sailors were always required to carry someone up a steep ladded and across a deck.
Allowing Time Outs and Stress Breaks during combat training may help the women graduate from Basic, but what happens when you get ambushed in real life?