Posted on 10/17/2017 11:11:45 AM PDT by PROCON
Army Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., the Army's chief of staff, administers the oath of enlistment to 26 recruits in New York City, April 1, 2009.
The military is facing a growing recruiting crisis: 71% of Americans between 17 and 24 can’t meet the minimum criteria for service, which places the burden of service on an ever-small and shrinking pool of troops with a family history of joining the military.
At an Oct. 12 Heritage Foundation panel in Washington, D.C., Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican and former Air Force one-star general told attendees “the single most important ingredient to readiness is the constant flow of willing volunteers.”
Yet with less than a third of the population eligible for service, “it’s a red flag for our country,” Bacon said. “If we don’t turn this around, where does the world’s strongest military recruit from?”
Some quick math shows what the services are up against. For the Army, the recruiting goal for the coming fiscal year is roughly 180,000 new soldiers. According to a detailed analysis by Army Times, only 9.7 million out of the 33.4 million Americans between 17 and 24 meet the Army’s minimum standards. The reasons for disqualification range from failure to meet weight and fitness standards, misconduct, medical issues, mental health, and substance abuse concerns.
Once you take into account whether or not the remaining 9.7 million are enrolled in college — and that the Army doesn’t want the bare minimum for its future soldiers — the recruiting pool shrinks to just 1.7 million. And that’s before you get to those who are even interested in enlisting. What you’re left with is just 136,000 potential recruits interested in joining out of the original pool of 33.4 million, Army Times reports.
(Excerpt) Read more at taskandpurpose.com ...
If I remember rightly, this kid in the picture worked very hard to lose nearly 100 pounds or more so he could meet the physical requirements for enlistment. Good for him.
I enlisted in the Navy 14 years ago at age 34. After a lifetime of making mostly bad decisions, it was the best decision I ever made.
Just passed my most recent PRT last week. Haven't failed one yet!
Actually, the military is getting a lot of older recruits these days. Guys in their mid-late 20s entering boot camp with a wife and kids back at home. Pays pretty good these days and Tricare is a helluva lot better than Obamacare.
Just don’t tell me we have the same problem as China says it has: the potential young recruits are too fat and they m@sturb@te too much.
The Navy actually relaxed their standards because they were kicking out too many otherwise qualified sailors. These days if you can suck in your gut to 39" or less, you're good to go.
The problem with the Navy (at least on the aviation side of things) is they no longer make the time to do command PT. They're too busy meeting a flight schedule. They're basically telling their sailors to work a full day and find time on your own to stay in shape. The end result is a lot of fat sailors.
And then there's the high carb Navy chow...
8 weeks at Ft Benning can cure that problem. :-)
I take anti-seizure medication. If I miss too much, I’m at risk of a real seizure.
Seems like the mirror image of what happened to the British during the Boer War. Many of the men who wanted to join the British Army to go off the South Africa were so stunted and malnourished they could not serve.
Oh I know. I was an Aircrewman and the flight schedule would interrupt the second coming of Christ.
I do think the “command PT” thing was always a joke. Staying in shape is more a personal commitment than the command’s obligation.
Can’t meet recruitment quotas?
Raise the pay.
That always works for civilian jobs.
My oldest tried to enlist in the Corps. Good ASVAB score and worked out religiously before going to MEPS. Got to MEPS and was rejected because of acne. Yes, acne. Here’s a kid all fired up to earn the title and now sits in college, because of acne, but yet they are going to let transgenders in. My big issue is with his recruiter. If you knew cystic acne was a disqualifying condition, why let the kid think he had a shot? When I went to MEPS in the late 80’s, we had a guy who was diabetic that the recruiters brought down. Talk about having your dreams crushed.
As I was nearing the end of my Navy enlistment in '64 I received word that my ship was to be deployed to the Med and I was given the choice to extend my enlistment for the cruise or be released early. I took early out, stupid move. Now if I want to see Europe I have to pay for it!
AND you could have seen it before the deluge of Muzzies swamped Europe ...
Ouch.
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