Posted on 11/05/2009 10:02:36 AM PST by AreaMan
Girding for an uphill battle for recruits
Obesity, poor education make many younger people unfit for military
By Christian Davenport and Emma Brown
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 5, 2009
It's tough enough selling military service to teenagers who might not be so keen on getting their heads shaved or buy the whole "we do more by 9 a.m." line. And the fact that enlisting today could very well mean a visit to the front lines doesn't help, either.
But according to a new report, there are other factors that make recruiters' jobs even more difficult: the country's poor education system and the worsening obesity crisis.
About 75 percent of the country's 17- to 24-year-olds are ineligible for military service, largely because they are poorly educated, overweight and have physical ailments that make them unfit for the armed forces, according to a report to be issued Thursday.
Other factors, such as drug use, criminal records and mental problems, contribute to what military leaders say is a major problem that threatens the country's ability to defend itself at a time when the all-volunteer force is already strained fighting two wars.
To combat the problem, a group of retired military leaders has joined Education Secretary Arne Duncan to call for greater investment in early education, which advocates say helps boost academic achievement and social development.
"We are very concerned," said retired Army Maj. Gen. James A. Kelley, a member of Mission: Readiness, the Washington-based nonprofit organization that issued the report. "We do have the greatest military in the world -- we have the greatest planes, the greatest tanks, the greatest ships -- but the key goal is having great people.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I throw the BS flag on this one...!
About 75 percent of the country's 17- to 24-year-olds are (that we talked to)ineligible...
Also,
they are poorly educated, overweight and have physical ailments ...
At least I waited until I got out of the military to acquire those traits.
75% may not be too far off the mark. When I was a Recruiter years ago it was very difficult to find a qualified prospect who wanted to enlist.
It depends on how they arrived at the 75% figure.
I don’t.
After all, they attend government schools...
Well but some boots and a pack on them and make them walk from here to there until they are fit to start boot camp. They will thank you for it later.
Either they are setting their standards too high, or most of the nation's youth really are poorly educated, overweight or have signicant ailments. I suspect some of both.
Suggestion for part of the solution... (draconian though it may be, but either we get draconian or we lose this republic of free people willing to defend it).
DRAFT at age 14 into four years of education (JROTC and then some) in military, civics and the basics of English, another language (Farsi, Mandarin, Russian, etc.), math, science, history, geography, economics, and the rest of the stuff no longer being adequately taught in most American schools AND physical conditioning -- all to make the draftees fit for military service of some sort (whether as infantry, sailors, or pilots or interpreters or intelligence specialists or clerks).
Followed by two years of active duty in one of the military services. (note that I do not regard "community organizing" or civilian stuff like Americorps as a replacement for real military service).
You will have the NEA as well as every state teacher's union arrayed against this, not to mention the mainstream media which will crank up file footage of Hitler your rallies as they "report".
Girls (Christian Davenport and Emma Brown), when I was in the Marine Corps, there existed a ‘Fat Man’s’ platoon where Marines to be, would sit down to breakfast consisting of a hard boiled egg, black coffee and little else. They ran their a$$e$ off all day in the blazing sun, ate sparingly and worked to become top shelf Marines. Your analysis wouldn’t make a pimple on a dead Marine’s butt.
Same old BS was posted yesterday, meaningless dribble.
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