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Actually, the more I look into this, the more troubling it becomes.
Mission Readiness is a public influence group with apparently a single focus: the obesity "crisis." It does "research" to prove its points and lobbies Congress on such things as the school lunch program, upgrading equipment in school lunchrooms etc. It's all about allocating tax dollars to combat the "crisis."
A couple of questions:
Who is Mission Readiness and where do they get their money? Obviously, they're funded by someone with an agenda.
What is their agenda?
Are these generals being paid for their services and, if so, by whom?
More troubling still is the idea of linking the military with domestic health issues. DOD is the Department of Defense, not the Department of Lobbying for better health. While there is apparently no direct connection to DOD, those retired general officers are still inextricably linked to DOD in the public eye and few would know that separation exists. All they see from this "report" is two things: Military and obesity "crisis" and suppose this is some kind of official, government report. That's a somewhat un-nerving situation.
Frankly, what appears to be a linkage of DOD and health issues very much reminds me of the inter-war years in Nazi Germany. They too embarked upon a plan to make young Germans better soldiers by indirect, or sometimes direct, military involvement in the education system. With a focus on fitness and health, the successfully turned out a generation of soldiers who were ready for conquest.
I'll have to research this further, but so far, I find it disturbing on a number of levels.
If you read some of the other reports, they also advocate head start programs, as early intervention is the best way to increase high school graduation, and staying out of trouble.
Seems strange to me that we should have forced reductions in troops that we have spent so much money training so that we can get new ones that can't even read or write. Maybe the military will be in charge of educating our youth since our school systems are unable to?
They will then all have to learn via mnenomic device. It has been twenty years and I still remember the four major battles of Vietnam as Kill Saddam Husein Dead.
Seeing that only 1/2 percent of the population actually serve in the active military at any one time, i.e. 1.3 million out of 300 million in the US, that shouldn't be a concern for most people if you look at it from a purely personnel perspective. Inviting felons, obese and drug users into the ranks is not the answer either, it tends to focus leadership on the population that have health issues, crime and other things that take the focus away from warfighting and put it on the problem children. The military is selective of who it recruits for a reason, leave it that way!
Seeing that only 1/2 percent of the population actually serve in the active military at any one time, i.e. 1.3 million out of 300 million in the US, that shouldn't be a concern for most people if you look at it from a purely personnel perspective. Inviting felons, obese and drug users into the ranks is not the answer either, it tends to focus leadership on the population that have health issues, crime and other things that take the focus away from warfighting and put it on the problem children. The military is selective of who it recruits for a reason, leave it that way!
But if we needed to mobilize 2 million men we can't with a military the size we have now.
Doesn't the use of Psychiatric drugs prohibit service? I recall reading that the use of ADD drugs would make you unfit for military service. (I think it was mentioned that one of the Columbine shooters had wanted to join but couldn't due to his use of these drugs).
They hand these drugs out like candy in our schools- I wouldn't be surprised if the 75% figure was just from drugged up kids alone.
If you have taken them in the past, you stop if you want to enlist, and you won't be taking them while you are in the Army.
My understanding is that you must be a high school graduate, you must not have a criminal record, and you must pass the fitness screeening. You also must get above a certain score on the ASFAB test.
This would eliminate most loser punks.
If you read some of the other reports, they also advocate head start programs, as early intervention is the best way to increase high school graduation, and staying out of trouble.
Head Start has been shown to be ineffective, sadly. It works for a few years, but it won't help you get all the way to HS graduation. Numerous studies.
Over the past 50 years, the military entrance process has gotten progressively more difficult from a medical standpoint. We've also raised intelligence and educational standards. At the same time, we've criminalized a huge amount of behavior. This is the natural outcome.
As other have said, in the event of a national emergency, the standards will have to go down. Its amazing how easy it is to get a waiver when the military needs bodies, and how hard it is when they don't The REAL standards - i.e. how much is waiverable - vary from year to year.
Over the past 50 years, the military entrance process has gotten progressively more difficult from a medical standpoint. We've also raised intelligence and educational standards. At the same time, we've criminalized a huge amount of behavior. This is the natural outcome.
As other have said, in the event of a national emergency, the standards will have to go down. Its amazing how easy it is to get a waiver when the military needs bodies, and how hard it is when they don't The REAL standards - i.e. how much is waiverable - vary from year to year.
It reminds me of an old Jerry Clowers story about the stuttering guy who wanted to join the Army during WWII and they wouldn't take him. Eventually, the need for more troops became acute enough that they did. As the stuttering guy explained it, "I g-g-g-guess n-n-ow they need f-f-f-fighters...n-not talkers."
There's a lot of truth in that story. When the need is great enough, they'll take anybody who can crawl through the door. Not only that, but in the great majority of cases, they'll make fine soldiers.
When you don't create a system that allows for the culling of the lazy and stupid (and in fact encourages the creation of more lazy and stupid), you get more lazy and stupid.
Then everyone sits around and acts surprised.
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The REAL standards - i.e. how much is waiverable - vary from year to year.
