[cva66snipe]

Well for one thing the BMI {I think it is} standards are insane. I came out of active duty at age 23 in top shape. But by today's standards at 5'10” at 205 I would have been seriously over weight even though I was not fat. Five years later the National Guards wanted me at 284 I think it was and I never got there. I was still in shape.

In event of an actual all out war the troops weight is going to be the least of this nations worries. Basic Training can eliminate a majority of weight issues. The problem is we would not have enough equipment and no factories to build more. Thanks of course to Poppy, Clinton, Smirks, Obama and the one party congress for the past 22 years.

Say China ole buddy ole pals can you build us a {insert critical defense need here}. Frist {thank goodness he is out of office} was like many in DC who never really was in touch with realities of the real world.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"Well for one thing the BMI {I think it is} standards are insane."

I agree with you. The BMI standards are ridiculous. I'm 6' 1" and weigh 175 pounds. I'm still in the normal range, but at the high end, almost to the point of being called overweight by BMI standards. I wear size 31 waist pants.

Even so, when I was younger, I wore size 30 and 34 long. It was never hard to find pants back then. Now I can't always find size 31 waist, 34 length in pants I like. Many times they don't have that size and a lot of times I settle for 31 waist and 32 long and it comes up almost short. Or I have to wear 32 or 33 waist and hike up the belt. Why is this? I suspect that in todays world, the size 31/34 is just not wore that much because people overall are getting larger. Kids are not as active as when we were kids.

Fortunately, the military does not use the BMI to screen whether you are overweight or not. Each service has different standards, but most of them are pretty generous with regards to height/weight requirements. As I recall, for my height in the Marine Corps, I was allowed to be up to about 215 or 220 pounds. Even if you go beyond that, you can get a waiver and they'll measure your body fat. That tells me, a lot of these kids rejected are really fat. That's a problem.

[Scotswife]

The BMI actually punishes you for being muscular.

You know what is a bigger threat to our national security?
Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

If we lowered our tax rates and disposed of so many of these gawd-awful regulations, pretty soon, we’d have plenty of factories that we could convert to wartime production if needed.