The Looming National Security Crisis: Young Americans Unable to Serve in the Military [71 percent of young Americans between 17 and 24 are ineligible to serve in the military.]

Heritage.org ^ | February 13, 2018 | Thomas Spoehr and Bridget Handy

[daniel1212]

According to 2017 Pentagon data, 71 percent of young Americans between 17 and 24 are ineligible to serve in the United States military[1 ].

The military depends on a constant flow of volunteers every year to meet its requirements, and as the number of eligible Americans declines, it will be increasingly difficult to meet the needs. This is not a distant problem to address decades from now. The U.S. military is already having a hard time attracting enough qualified volunteers. Of the four services, the Army has the greatest annual need. The Army anticipates problems with meeting its 2018 goal to enlist 80,000 qualified volunteers, even with increased bonuses and incentives...2

In 2009, a group of retired U.S. generals and admirals formed a nonprofit group...Mission: Readiness, “Ready, Willing, and Unable to Serve,” undated, http://cdn.missionreadiness.org/NATEE1109.pdf (accessed January 26, 2018 ). they report that the main causes of this situation are inadequate education, criminality, and obesity. Unchecked, the combined effect of these three conditions will continue to decrease the number of young adults eligible to serve in the United States military. ..

“experts said seniors graduating from high school [in 2014] face[d] the longest odds to qualify for military service since the draft was abolished in 1973...

Graduation rates reported by major U.S. cities tell a more accurate and depressing story, with places like Montgomery, Alabama, reporting 70.7 percent and Albany, Oregon, as low as 51.3 percent.

Another hindrance to young adults’ ability to join the military is criminal history. ..Criminal history is relevant because it shows recruiters the kind of behavior and activities that recruits have exhibited in the past—which, while not predictive, certainly hint at the potential for similar behavior in the future...According to the 2009 Mission: Readiness report, criminality prevents one of every 10 young adults from being able to join the armed forces. [23]..National Institute of Justice claims that according to The Pittsburgh Youth Study, “52 to 57 percent of juvenile delinquents continue to offend up to age 25.[25]...

Health Issues

According to the former commander of the U.S. Army Recruiting Command,Major General Allen Batschelet, the biggest culprit keeping young adults from qualifying to serve in the United States military however is health concerns, mostly obesity.[32]

In 2015, he stated: “The obesity issue is the most troubling because the trend is going in the wrong direction…. By 2020 it could be as high as 50%, which means only 2 in 10 would qualify to join the Army.”[33]..

The Mission: Readiness report previously cited reports that “27% of young Americans are too overweight for military service,” and of the total number of those who attempt to join the Armed Forces, approximately 15,000 are rejected every year because they are overweight. [35]

Another 32 percent of the young adult population cannot join the military for health concerns other than obesity. These issues include asthma, hearing and eyesight problems, and mental illness.[38]

[fortes fortuna juvat]

My reason: the homosexualizarion of the military. Further, the fact that America has elected some anti American presidents who you can not trust as commander in chief.
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Excellent reasons and your sons owe you a debt of gratitude.

[Bruce Campbells Chin]

Exactly what is it that would be defended 5 or so years down the road? Freedom of speech/expression is being squelched, borders will become even more open, we'll be more socialistic and more "woke"...and it's not just the government but the majority of the people themselves moving in that direction.

Send our finest young men and women into a military with mandatory wokeness training? Why?

[kiryandil]

Why would you serve in the military of a banana republic?

[Bruce Campbells Chin]

Speaking as a Marine Corps combat vet, the military exerts more control/influence over your life, and over the installation of values, than does just about any other career path. That's fantastic if they are training youmg people in traditional American values, but a disaster if they are training them in wokeness.

Civilian government service may be just as bad or worse, but a good bit of the private sector just goes about its business without mandatory wokeness.

[Bruce Campbells Chin]

Can’t speak to fire departmenta, but police departments also have a terrible time finding enough qualified recruits. It’s a huge problem.

[PeterPrinciple]

Speaking as a Marine Corps combat vet,

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Yes, I understand your position and grieve with you. But there is always a remnant, just like in the church. And we need the remnant there more than ever.

[right way right]

This country has already been conquered anyway, so....

[strider44]

I take some offense. I served 24 years. Should I have quit during the 8 years Clinton was president? He did plenty of damage. I don’t mean to be confrontational.

If good people refuse to serve, what good does that do our country as a whole? I have 3 sons, my oldest is showing keen interest in attending a service academy (we have several Naval Academy and West Point grads in the extended family).

Despite current political conditions, those academies are far better than almost all liberal higher education institutions.

What should we all do? Just give up? Hell no I say. If my son wants to serve it’s still a great path. You can still love your country, fight for it, and resists the imbeciles currently in charge.

And yes, I will admit that if he saves me $200 K in college tuition I won’t say no to that. His second choice is Stanford University (although he will apply for ROTC scholarships too, so maybe not too bad a financial hit).

[Bruce Campbells Chin]

And we need the remnant there more than ever. Exactly who is the "we" to whom you are referring? More than half the folks they'd be defending despise the very kind of kids who traditionally serve in the military.

[fortes fortuna juvat]

In 1940, as a result of the introduction of the draft US Army psychologists found some 40% of recruits were illiterate.

And just as many suffered from a condition they called
‘’Momism’’. That was all of these young males had been so thoroughly spoiled by their mothers officers and noncoms had difficulty in having them follow orders.
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Makes one wonder how we managed to beat the Germans and the Japanese. Of course, in Europe Hitler’s stupidity and Russia’s weather were significant factors in the final victory. Meanwhile in the Pacific after Pearl the Japanese were thrown on the defensive and destroyed by a relentless allied offensive culminating in the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. So in the final analysis our military leaders did a damn good job of transforming all those illiterate ‘Momma Boys’ into warriors!

[strider44]

Good point. That % has to be low. Look at a typical high school I guess. My son plays football and wrestles. He lifts weights and runs about 18 hours a week. Borders on fanatical...but the wrestling team is excellent.

I would say 70% of the football team is as dedicated. So that’s about 50-60 boys in a high school of 1500 kids.

I don’t want to shit on the soccer players, basketball, Lax, etc. Many of them are in good shape too. I just consider the football and wrestlers tougher kids. Mileage may vary.

So you’re probably talking about 5-10% of high school boys nation-wide that are in shape and tough enough to cruise through basic training. Then 1% or less of that crew could even be considered for SEALs or Force Recon, Ranger School, etc.

So yeah...we’re in trouble.

And sorry, don’t mean to offend, but I don’t count any women in my calculations. They’re not real soldiers. Real soldiers in the sens of sending them out to kill the enemy up-close and personal. I suppose they can push buttons from far away, fly drones, etc.

[fortes fortuna juvat]

The comparison is not to what is used to be but to everything else currently.
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That may be true in the faculty lounges but on the street the comparison that matters is how America’s PC-addicted military compares to the kind of fighting forces that will be needed to win the coming wars with our country’s enemies.

[M Kehoe]

Hi.

I used to say, give me eight weeks with that age group at Ft. Jackson, and I’ll give you one of two things. A Soldier or a section 8.

Maybe not now?

5.56mm

[SuperLuminal]

chicom are licking their lips...
America has insufficient troops & no-way our communist rulers will ever use nukes (except, as already threatened, against other Americans)...

[jmacusa]

They did because despite the ‘’momism’’ that generation of Americans didn't have anything in the way of the material abundance today's youth have. And they weren't told that their very existence on Earth was a wondrous miracle and their every utterance and bowel movement was akin to Holy Writ.

[Bruce Campbells Chin]

I'm a Naval Academy grad myself. But there is a time to get realistic about the change in values that are being taught.

The values I was taught at The Boat School, and what I acquired in the Marines, were fantastic. Now...they're toxic masculinity. Our Founders aren't men worthy of admiration- they're just a bunch of racists. Capitalism is evil and exploitative. And worst of all is the squelching of free political thought and speech.

Are we truly still a country where individual liberty is the central value? Because I always considered that the core "bargain" of my military service. Civilians are obliged to keep this a country worth defending, and I'll defend it. Well...they're no longer holding up their end of that bargain.

They mock our values while expecting us to protect theirs,and unfortunately, the rot has become deeper than just one election. Those values have become pervasive among far too many young people. This crap will continue to be pushed down our throats as long as they get away with it, and keeping the mliitary fully staffed despite the culture war is part of what they want. A "strike" by those of us who traditionally served is one way to let them know they have gone too far.

[strider44]

My Naval Academy pals graduated in 1992 and 93. Would you send your son there now? My brother-in-law graduated in 92, did 14 years in the Navy. They paid for him to get a phd from MIT also. Instead of designing ships he’s a hedge fund manager. Nice bank.

I guess my point is we still need to put up a fight. My son will make his choice either way, but I won’t actively dissuade him from military service. Nor will I be disappointed if he remains a civilian.

[daniel1212]

Powerful sermon: https://youtu.be/yec-GhZB_oY?t=1671 Begins at boot camp aspect...

[daniel1212]

I wonder what % of our people under age 30 have ever performed sustained physical labor outdoors. It has to be the lowest in all of human experience. Freegards

And gone without food and drink for more than 24 hours. Today not being able to check one's Smart phone is deprivation.

[daniel1212]

Well if they ever need recruits in mass they’ll just draft them. All but Congress’s kids.

The reactionary protests would make BLM and Antifa ones look mild.