Thread: Study: About 75 Percent of Young Americans Ineligible for Military

Study: About 75 Percent of Young Americans Ineligible for Military

By Solange Reyner
Monday, 19 Feb 2018 04:37 PM

The Pentagon is facing a future recruiting challenge as 71 percent of Americans age 17 to 24 do not meet standards for enlistment due to obesity, criminal backgrounds or lack of education, "an alarming situation that threatens the country's fundamental national security," according to a study published by the Heritage Foundation.

"Obesity and the percentage of people overweight in the country has just skyrocketed in the last 10 to 15 years," retired Army Lt. Gen. Tom Spoehr, co-author of the "The Looming National Security Crisis," told Politico.

"Asthma is going up. High school graduation rates are still just barely acceptable and in some big cities they are miserable. Criminality is also not going away. We have to face the reality that these things in some cases are getting worse, not better."

Army recruiters are hoping to enlist about 80,000 qualified volunteers in fiscal year 2018, and plan to add 4,000 troops to its active force to reach 487,500. The Navy hopes to bring on 7,500 sailors for a total of 335,400, and the Air Force is looking for an additional 4,000 volunteers to reach 329,100 active-duty personnel.

But, "the U.S. military is already having a hard time attracting enough qualified volunteers," according to the Heritage paper.

"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."

President Donald Trump last Monday requested $716 billion for defense, and called for an increase of 16,900 troops over the congressionally authorized troop level. But 90 percent of all recruits must have a high school diploma and there are fitness, weight and moral standards that must be met.

"The problem needs a team effort — at the federal level, the local level, parents, teachers, kids," said retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Norm Seip, chairman of the Council for a Strong America.

https://www.newsmax.com/us/military-.../19/id/844210/

Yeah, well, it looks to me like that ole WAR ON DRUGS, probably the main cause of so many so young having a criminal background, is now a national security threat itself. Employers can't hire because someone failed a drug test, the White House had a new hire rejected recently on a security clearance because he disclosed that he had smoked pot 4 years ago, now the military can't hire volunteer Americans because of a .... drug charge in their history??!!

All these boom-bahs writing the regulations for our volunteer army need to watch a re-run of the Dirty Dozen. Then maybe they'll understand why we won WWII in 3 years and 8 months and frankly haven't been able to win one since.

When you have served your time, for whatever crime you committed, then you should have all your rights restored including the right to serve in the US military. Furthermore, obesity is a weight problem that military service will fix, so why throw that person away?!

SAVE AMERICA, END THE WAR ON WEED!!

Too Fat to Fight: Obesity Costs the Military a Bundle

By Donald Liebenson, The Fiscal Times

In the classic comedy Stripes, overweight "Ox" Oxenberger, portrayed by John Candy, tells fellow recruits that he joined the Army to lose a few pounds. "I'm gonna walk out of here a lean, mean fighting machine," he declares. And now for a dose of reality, circa 2010. Today, Ox would rank among the 9 million young adults — 27 percent of all Americans ages 17 to 24 — who are too overweight to even join the military in the first place.

It’s a frightening new challenge for this country.

Each year the U.S. military discharges more than 1,200 first-time enlistees before their contracts are up because of weight problems. The cost of recruiting and training all their replacements? A hefty $50,000 per person — or roughly $60 million a year.

The Numbers Behind ‘Too Fat to Fight’

Mission: Readiness is a non-profit group of 130 retired senior military leaders whose recent report claimed that weight problems are the leading medical reason recruits are rejected for military service in this country. This finding has tremendous implications for national security. In written testimony to the House Armed Services subcommittee on military personnel earlier this year, Clifford L. Stanley, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, noted that the eligibility of American youth to serve is "of particular concern."

"In the past 30 years, childhood obesity has tripled," says Ted Eismeier, a spokesperson for Mission: Readiness. "We're in a situation where so many people coming out of high school are obese or overweight, they don't make the grade."

A "convergence of many trends" has led to obesity being the major disqualifying factor, says Dr. Marc Jacobson, a member of the Obesity Leadership Workgroup of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Among those trends: more indoor entertainment options for young people (electronic games, computers, etc.), more working parents who aren’t around to nudge their kids outdoors, and more fast food or takeout meals that are higher in calories and larger in size.

Convergence, indeed.

The Mission: Readiness report advocates reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act. It calls on Congress to adopt new nutrition standards; it also supports President Obama's proposal for $1 billion each year for 10 years to improve the quality of food in schools and make that food available to more children. The report also cites the American Public Health Association's projection that obesity will add nearly $344 billion to the nation's annual health care costs by 2018, and account for more than 21 percent of health care spending.

Numbers related to the costs of obesity to the military are no less alarming. According to a 2007 article in the American Journal of Health Promotion, the Department of Defense spends more than $1.1 billion annually for medical care associated with excess weight and obesity. The tab for work-related absenteeism and “presenteeism” (ill workers who perform substandard work)? More than $105 million.Fixing the Problem

Nationwide campaigns such as the 5-2-1-0 program from the AAP (five servings of fruits and vegetables daily, two hours or less of screen time, one hour of physical activity daily, and zero sugar-sweetened beverages), as well as "Let's Move," launched earlier this year by Michelle Obama, promote nutrition awareness and physical fitness to schoolchildren. But each military service branch also has programs in place for its active duty personnel, including the Army's MOVE program, the Air Force's DINE/Fit to Fight program, and the Navy's CHOW/Ship Shape initiative.

Programs for the entire military family include the DOD’s Nutritional Environment Enhancement Team efforts to improve food choices for service people. It puts more healthful choices in vending machines, encourages the consumption of more fruits and vegetables throughout the community, and gives information to members and their families to improve food selections.

TRICARE, the military’s health care program, has also developed an expanded “Get Fit” website for children. That’s expected to launch soon.

In this difficult economy, the challenges facing the military have implications for the rest of the country. "Where's the money going to come from to take care of all the sick people we're going to have?" says Sandra Hassink, M.D., director of the weight management clinic at the Nemours/Alfred I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware.

"What’s happening in the military is a reflection of what's been going on for the past 25 years. A calorie imbalance of a couple hundred calories a day on a consistent basis can lead to about 20 pounds weight gain a year. And that energy imbalance is embedded in our culture.

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articl...a-Hefty-Bundle

That's silly. All the many jobs available in the US military today, and firing people because of some stupid weight standard. That's just stupid. Fat boys can shoot, they can cook, they can operate computers, there is a lot they can do.

Oh, and you always need to know your source:

The Fiscal Times

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Fiscal Times Thefiscaltimes.png

The Fiscal Times (TFT) is an English-language digital news, news analysis and opinion publication based in New York City and Washington, D.C.. It was founded in 2010 with initial funding from businessman and investment banker Peter G. Peterson. Jacqueline Leo serves as the publication's editor-in-chief.

Through three core content channels—policy and politics, business and economy, and life and money—the publication focuses on how fiscal policy affects business and consumers and how business and consumer behavior influences government fiscal policy. The site's news coverage also tracks the Presidency, Congress and the Federal Reserve.

Contents

1 Overview
2 History
3 Staff
4 Partnerships
5 References
6 External links

Overview

The publication bills itself as "The Source for All Things Fiscal."[1] It adds that it is "part of a new era of independently supported non-partisan journalism" on fiscal policy, which "works to present fair, accurate and balanced reporting and serve as an honest broker in sorting through a broad range of viewpoints, including the federal budget, the growing deficit, entitlements, health care, personal savings, taxation, and the global economy."[2]

The Fiscal Times' advisory committee periodically meets with TFT editors to assess performance and progress in meeting its goals and standards. The committee includes Robert D. Reischauer, president emeritus of the Urban Institute;[3] Drew Altman, CEO of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation; Jim Brady, former executive editor of The Washington Post; Jodi T. Allen, senior editor of the Pew Research Center; and G. William Hoagland, senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

History

Businessman Peter G. Peterson a controversial Wall Street billionaire who uses his wealth to underwrite numerous organizations and PR campaigns to generate public support for slashing Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, founded The Fiscal Times by providing the initial funding for the publication in 2009 and 2010. Jackie Leo, former editor-in-chief of Reader's Digest was selected to be the publication's editor-in-chief. Other journalists involved in the launch of the publication included former Washington Post budget reporter Eric Pianin, who became the publication's Washington editor, Ann Reilly Dowd from Fortune magazine, and Merrill Goozner, former chief financial writer for the Chicago Tribune.[4] The publication was to launch in early 2010, but began content partnership programs with organizations including The Washington Post in 2009.

Continued in link. Very interesting. It's just a conservative SOROS-type outfit trying to influence our elections. CALL MUELLER and the FBI, they are threatening our national security attackinig our overweight Americans. UNFORGIVABLE.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fiscal_Times

Other sources:

Army Recruits from Southern States Most Unfit, Prone to Injury: Study ...
https://www.military.com/.../army-recruits-southern-states-most-unfit-prone-injury-stu...
Jan 16, 2018 - The report says, "Many states in the southern region of the United States are recognized for higher rates of obesity, physical inactivity, and chronic disease. These states are therefore recognized for their disproportionate public health burden." In addition, the 10 Southern states "are also disproportionately ...


Obesity epidemic at new high, costs $150B a year, hurts military ...
www.washingtonexaminer.com/obesity...at...costs...a...military-recruiting/.../2633193
Sep 1, 2017 - Americans continue to get fatter and it's delivering a huge blow to the country, both in higher health care costs and undercutting military recruiting, according to a huge new study. The 14th annual State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America report from the Trust for America's Health and the ...


Too Fat to Fight: Military Threatened by Childhood Obesity | Military.com

https://www.military.com/.../too-fat-to-fight-military-threatened-by-childhood-obesity...
Oct 15, 2017 - "It does render those kids unfit to fight but there are many other reasons to combat childhood obesity," she said. Cooke said fat children face health challenges for a lifetime, costing society. But as the Army aims to bring in 80,000 recruits in the next year, having too many obese teens is troubling for the ...


America Is so Out of Shape and Fat, It's Putting U.S. Army Soldiers in ...
www.newsweek.com/america-so-out-shape-and-fat-its-putting-us-army-soldiers-dange...
Jan 11, 2018 - The U.S. Army is struggling to find physically fit recruits. ... The study concluded these 11 Southern states are "disproportionately burdensome for military readiness and national security" for two important reasons: First, high obesity rates mean the candidate pool for the military is dwindling, as prospects ...


Military Recruits Overweight? - Roll Call
www.rollcall.com/news/military-recruits-overweight
The Chicago Tribune reports that "Americans' love of cheesy fries and aversion to exercise are both well documented. But while everyone has heard about the effect of high-calorie living on health care costs and kids' waistlines, scholars and former military leaders say the obesity epidemic also poses real — but too often ...


Army recruits from the South are less fit and more prone to injuries ...
www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/article195555394.html
Jan 19, 2018 - A new study found that recruits from the South are less physically fit than recruits from other parts of the country - and they're getting injured more often. ... Most other southern states, including Georgia, have obesity rates of between 30 and 35 percent. Florida does a little better, with a little more than a fourth ...

Fat, unhealthy Americans threaten Trump's defense surge - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/story/.../pentagon-buildup-troop-recruiting-shortage-35136...

9 hours ago - Rising obesity numbers, drug use, criminal backgrounds and other problems mean most people at prime military recruiting age are ineligible to serve. ... High school graduation rates are still just barely acceptable and in some big cities they are miserable. Criminality is also not going away. We have to face ...


Obesity and the US Military Family - NCBI - NIH
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4010088/
by M Tanofsky-Kraff - ‎2013 - ‎Cited by 24 - ‎Related articles
Jump to Prevalence and Cost of Obesity - Despite mandatory physical performance standards, military personnel are not immune to overweight. In 2008, over 4,500 service members were discharged for failing to meet weight standards, incurring a cost of more than $183 million in annual recruiting and training ...


The U.S. military has a huge problem with obesity and it's only getting ...
https://www.militarytimes.com/...military/.../the-u-s-military-has-a-huge-problem-with...
Sep 11, 2016 - And maybe, too, the military is simply reflecting the nation's broader population, whose poor eating habits are fueling an alarming rise obesity rates. This much is clear, though: Today's military is fatter than ever. For the first time in years, the Pentagon has disclosed data indicating the number of troops its ...



[PDF]UNFIT TO SERVE: Obesity is Impacting National Security - CDC
https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/downloads/unfit-to-serve.pdf
in our military. Over the last decade, we have experienced increasing difficulty in recruiting soldiers due to the decline in the health of our nation's youth. Unless we ... $1.5 billion annually in obesity-related health care costs for current and former service members and their families, as well as costs to replace unfit personnel.

It doesn't matter how many times the story is replicated, it's a discriminatory, mean-spirited and very hurtful article for these young people who want to join the military. What kind of people do this? BULLIES. And please note your article that's they're blaming the Southern States, the RED STATES, for all the Fat Boys in the military. SHAME ON YOU ALL!!

Our military leadership is dominated by Democrats who want more Democrats so they can control our country. So wake up and stop being a bully, stop promoting bully talk, and stop picking on overweight people between the ages of 17 and 24. It's disgusting!!

Overweight, tattooed, stoned? The Pentagon may still want you
www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-modern-military-20161103-story.html
Nov 3, 2016 - More Americans than ever before are overweight or obese, for example. Though no one suggests easing body-mass standards for active-duty soldiers, the Pentagon may allow portly, paunchy and potbellied recruits to enlist — and then whip them into shape in boot camp. “Some of the fitness standards can ...

Heel spurs and masturbation: A history of military medical exemptions ...
https://www.cnn.com/2016/08/04/health/heel-spurs-military-deferments/index.html
Oct 23, 2017 - There's a long and complicated history behind the list of medical conditions that exempt you from the military. ... (CNN) Donald Trump has faced scrutiny over his multiple US military deferments during the Vietnam War but many Americans are still questioning what exactly .... America: Too Fat to Fight 02:47.

Pentagon confirms US military will accept transgender recruits in new ...

www.scmp.com › News › World › United States & Canada

Originally Posted by Judy

It doesn't matter how many times the story is replicated, it's a discriminatory, mean-spirited and very hurtful article for these young people who want to join the military. What kind of people do this? BULLIES. And please note your article that's they're blaming the Southern States, the RED STATES, for all the Fat Boys in the military. SHAME ON YOU ALL!!

Our military leadership is dominated by Democrats who want more Democrats so they can control our country. So wake up and stop being a bully, stop promoting bully talk, and stop picking on overweight people between the ages of 17 and 24. It's disgusting!!

Oh please, give me a break. You're low regard for our military shines through in your postings on this thread. If I didn't know better, I would have thought some of your comments were based on satire. That's how ridiculous they sound. Your lack of knowledge on military structure and the necessity for moral and physical fitness probably don't make you a good judge of what our military services should look like.

Furthermore, in regards to your comment that military service is a right. We'll that comment couldn't be further from the truth. The opportunity to serve in our military is an honor, not a right. It's earned by achieving a required level of education and qualifying test score on the Officer Aptitude Rating (OAR) or Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), meeting physical fitness requirements, medical standards and moral standards. The various military branches have many requirements that are the same and some that are different. The same goes for specific jobs. For example, a college educated individual wishing to become a Navy SEAL officer must go through a battery of physical testing above and beyond someone seeking a job as a Navy Supply Officer. However, both require successfully passing an interview process and recommendations. Every job, officer and enlisted, may have specific requirements for the position they're seeking and that is true in every military branch.

The one thing every military member has in common though is they must have the ability to fight in an armed conflict if necessary. Yes, even that cook and computer operator you mentioned must be able to fight. For example, a cook on a Navy ship must report to a general quarters station to fight the ship if confronted by enemy aircraft, submarine or ship. Fighting a fire on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier requires a level of physical fitness not expected of a just a cook. Whether it's on a Navy ship or in an Army base camp, everyone must be physically fit enough to fight. The very survival of the camp, ship, or their buddy may depend upon it! There is no such thing as just a cook or computer operator. They all have other duty requirements. Of course I'm not talking about civilian support folks, I'm talking about actual military members.

Oh, and no we don't want drug users or former drug abusers in the military. Active drug users requires no explanation and former drug abusers have an addictive personality that could make them a liability in stressful situations. Can't have an Army Medic deciding he needs the drugs more than the injured and can't have shipboard folks breaking into the dispensary when they feel the need for a high.

Last, but not least, obesity brings a whole host of problems I don't even care to get into. The least of which is their ability to be fighting machines. Oh, and in opposition to what you suggested in one of your post, just being in the military doesn't necessarily cure the addiction some have to food or their motivation to lose weight. Yes, military folks are discharged all the time because they fail to meet the weight standards and rightfully so. Do you really think taxpayers should be responsible for taking care of the problems suffered by a bunch of obese soldiers who will probably end up suffering as a type II diabetics someday? If a person doesn't have the willpower to control his or her weight, they would be better off working at Wal-Mart or serving in the U.S. Congress.

Oh, almost forgot. Your comment regarding the upper echelon of the military being Democrat sort of caught me off guard. I'm going to disagree with you on that. I believe the majority of the military's senior officers are Republican.

Well, I think about football players, and they're pretty tough and a lot of them would be considered overweight. I think the article is insulting, demeaning and inappropriate. Making public fun of our young people who want or may want to serve our country is not an honorable act on any level in my opinion, no matter who does it.

As to more officers being Republicans than Democrats, you may be right. I assumed because there's more Democrats in our society than Republicans, that the military would reflect that same demographic, but maybe that's changed since we ended the draft and moved to the all volunteer military service.

As to the rest of it, whatever. Our military knows what its doing and if whatever it is isn't working, they'll make a change and fix it. At least that would be the responsible thing to do.

Originally Posted by MW

. . . If I didn't know better, I would have thought some of your comments were based on satire. That's how ridiculous they sound.

OH. You mean ALL of her comments aren't satire? My mistake.