"70% Of Young People Unfit to Enlist"

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Vendaval -> "70% Of Young People Unfit to Enlist" (11/19/2009 2:13:20 AM)
So a lifestyle high in junk food + little to no exercise + lack of a focus on education = 70% of American young people are not fit to enlist in the Armed Services. Now that's a sad state of affairs. "70% Of Young People Unfit to Enlist" Money spent on early-childhood education today can help protect America's national security tomorrow, former military leaders said yesterday at a news conference in Richmond. About 70 percent of the nation's military-age young people cannot enlist in the armed forces because of inadequate education, criminal records or physical problems. "We estimate that only about three out of 10 American youth between the ages of 17 and 24 are fully qualified for military service," said Douglas Smith, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Recruiting Command at Fort Knox, Ky. It's sad commentary that between inadequate education, criminal records and being physically unfit that 70% of Americans 17-24 can not enlist because they don't meet minimum basic requirements. Shocking, right? The Military has created Mission: Readiness, a program aimed at helping young people get healthy and fit for life and the military." http://www.army.com/blog/item/5866

thishereboi -> RE: "70% Of Young People Unfit to Enlist" (11/19/2009 4:19:29 AM)
It wouldn't suprise me, but I would still like to get more info on how they came up with that number. All the article said was "We estimate that only about three out of 10 American youth between the ages of 17 and 24 are fully qualified for military service," said Douglas Smith, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Recruiting Command at Fort Knox, Ky."

Moonhead -> RE: "70% Of Young People Unfit to Enlist" (11/19/2009 4:54:04 AM)
Are criminal records a problem with enlisting? I thought people were sometimes offered a choice between joining up or getting sent down over there.

fetishtvslave4BD -> RE: "70% Of Young People Unfit to Enlist" (11/19/2009 5:08:51 AM)
There are a lot of things that disqualify for military service. High on the list is obesity. We have a lot of fat young men and women. Ritalin and other drugs narrow down the list a bit because if you've been prescribed medications to treat ADHD you're probably disqualified. Eyesight, hearing, physical defects, carrying a disease like AIDs or herpes all disqualify. Not being able to read will automatically make it impossible to join so if you're a dumbass who simply never paid attention in school or only recently came to the USA from a foreign nation you're probably not qualified. If you have bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder or you're schizophrenic you're disqualified as well. Autistic young adults need not apply. If you have commited a felony that disqualifies you and the courts no longer give the option to go to the service or go to jail. That's not done any more. I think in the old days you had to have more than half of your natural teeth. I seem to recall something about flat feet? They have height requirements as well. Oh, and you still can't be openly gay because that harms unit cohesion, like I gave a shit who was in the foxhole with me when the bullets were flying. That should give you some idea of what's involved.

Moonhead -> RE: "70% Of Young People Unfit to Enlist" (11/19/2009 5:21:58 AM)
Thank you. I didn't realise that they'd stopped doing the join up or go to jail thing now. I'd imagine that there's probably a lot more medical problems than the ones you've listed. Diabetes and epilepsy both spring to mind for a start.

subtlebutterfly -> RE: "70% Of Young People Unfit to Enlist" (11/19/2009 5:23:11 AM)
FR. Don't tell me you're surprised[8\|]

Musicmystery -> RE: "70% Of Young People Unfit to Enlist" (11/19/2009 5:33:00 AM)
quote: I would still like to get more info on how they came up with that number. I heard a few interviews about this. Working from memory here... Some surprising percentage--high thirties pushing forty--is from childhood health issues, from asthma to hyperactivity (stuff we didn't use to diagnosis...another issue for another day). Meeting weight requirements was another--candidates coming back week after week, trying to weigh in, unsuccessfully. And a (too high) number of people in the U.S. never earn even a GED. That adds up to 70% (3/4 they said in the interview) quickly.

AnimusRex -> RE: "70% Of Young People Unfit to Enlist" (11/19/2009 9:46:33 AM)
The more things change.... Congress created the [National School Lunch Program] after an investigation into the health of young men rejected in the World War II draft showed a connection between physical deficiencies and childhood malnutrition. In response, Congress enacted the 1946 National School Lunch Act as a "measure of national security, to safeguard the health and well-being of the Nation's children." http://www.frac.org/html/federal_food_programs/programs/nslp.html http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Lunch/AboutLunch/ProgramHistory_5.htm#APPROVED In recent years, schools have cut budgets by allowing fast food vendors to replace balanced nutritious lunches; cut budgets by eliminating Physical Education classes. So after a few years of children eating Twinkies and Big Macs, and sitting instead of running, we are shocked- shocked- to discover that they are fat? Further- Progressives had been trying for years to get public lunches for schoolchildren- the idea was always shot down as a government service that we could not afford; but when free school lunches was coupled with the notion that it prepared young men for military service, suddenly it became a matter of national security. And somehow, the money (and the will) was found. So how long will it be to make the connection between access to health care, and preparing young men and women for military service?

popeye1250 -> RE: "70% Of Young People Unfit to Enlist" (11/19/2009 11:10:26 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: fetishtvslave4BD There are a lot of things that disqualify for military service. High on the list is obesity. We have a lot of fat young men and women. Ritalin and other drugs narrow down the list a bit because if you've been prescribed medications to treat ADHD you're probably disqualified. Eyesight, hearing, physical defects, carrying a disease like AIDs or herpes all disqualify. Not being able to read will automatically make it impossible to join so if you're a dumbass who simply never paid attention in school or only recently came to the USA from a foreign nation you're probably not qualified. If you have bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder or you're schizophrenic you're disqualified as well. Autistic young adults need not apply. If you have commited a felony that disqualifies you and the courts no longer give the option to go to the service or go to jail. That's not done any more. I think in the old days you had to have more than half of your natural teeth. I seem to recall something about flat feet? They have height requirements as well. Oh, and you still can't be openly gay because that harms unit cohesion, like I gave a shit who was in the foxhole with me when the bullets were flying. That should give you some idea of what's involved. 4bd, that's all true. That's why Veterans make very sought after employees when they get out. And yes, there's a lot more fatties out there today! I'm 58 and a disabled veteran and I could run circles around most of them! They take three flights of stairs and they're all pooped out from lugging that fatbody around with them and they're in their 20's! When I went to Navy bootcamp in Great Lakes, Ill in the early 70's all of us were in pretty good shape but we were pushed into great shape with a lot of physical conditioning and,...running! We ran everywhere! We could never get enough sleep! I remember that very well. We did what we were told and kept our mouths shut like many of our fathers told us. It's like they wanted us tired all the time. Everyone wanted to graduate bootcamp! It takes discipline and hard work! And on top of that a lot of classroom work and study to learn about ships and how they work. So you have to have a "no nonsense mindset" about you. Engineering, firefighting, damage control, water survival. No t.v., bootcamp chow only except for sundays when after "Chaplin Charlie" you could go to the store for some "Gee-Dunk" food or maybe take a walk into the woods, "to do whatever you have to do." And after you graduated a ship and maybe Vietnam. A lot of the kids these days are simply too immature and self centered to be able to survive bootcamp. You don't want people like that with you in an emergency situation.

LadyPact -> RE: "70% Of Young People Unfit to Enlist" (11/19/2009 11:30:51 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: fetishtvslave4BD There are a lot of things that disqualify for military service. High on the list is obesity. We have a lot of fat young men and women. Ritalin and other drugs narrow down the list a bit because if you've been prescribed medications to treat ADHD you're probably disqualified. Eyesight, hearing, physical defects, carrying a disease like AIDs or herpes all disqualify. Not being able to read will automatically make it impossible to join so if you're a dumbass who simply never paid attention in school or only recently came to the USA from a foreign nation you're probably not qualified. If you have bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder or you're schizophrenic you're disqualified as well. Autistic young adults need not apply. If you have commited a felony that disqualifies you and the courts no longer give the option to go to the service or go to jail. That's not done any more. I think in the old days you had to have more than half of your natural teeth. I seem to recall something about flat feet? They have height requirements as well. Oh, and you still can't be openly gay because that harms unit cohesion, like I gave a shit who was in the foxhole with me when the bullets were flying. That should give you some idea of what's involved. The above is pretty accurate. The flat feet thing is true. Other things that can disqualify you can be something as simple as some kind of skin rashes, a prior surgery, and some types of vision problems. Not every medical reason is related to weight. Also correct on certain types of medications as listed above. It has more to do with the meds being a class II type substance than it does the person taking them actually being unfit.

Kayleighmarie199 -> RE: "70% Of Young People Unfit to Enlist" (11/19/2009 12:02:41 PM)
you know i joined the us miliiary under lies i wanted to serve my country so bad. i did not tell them that house caved in on top of me or that i stoped taking my medicane a week before i joined. i told my recruter everything about my crazy past and he said dont tell them anything...The Military does not want people that have 1.overweight. however you can be very overweight and they will stay take you if you can do whats called the arms test. 2. you have to be off any meds for no less than a year 3. there are meny factors but im a trans male to female lez. so i not like guys i joined the military so that the money ihave saved up in 8 years would get me everything i meeded to be a girl. dont ask dont tell policy in the us military is straight bull shit if your gay or your trans they will find out and im telling you know you might die in iraq or over seas but you will die in you barracks. from person experance in the barracks two of my best friends were killed cuz they were gay if you are gay do not join the military its not gonna work yes there are righ now 22% of our military is gay they keep looking out for us what you do is your chois when it comes to the military i will say this if you join and they scare you with the we search line this is it all they do is see if you have a felony. your blood work is another thing they check on other than that they dont check up on things.. you can get a way with a lot but the military has a LOT of stress so think carefully Kayleigh

Moonhead -> RE: "70% Of Young People Unfit to Enlist" (11/19/2009 12:20:22 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: popeye1250 A lot of the kids these days are simply too immature and self centered to be able to survive bootcamp. Not intended as a diss, but shouldn't bootcamp cure that?

switch2please -> RE: "70% Of Young People Unfit to Enlist" (11/19/2009 12:35:14 PM)
I'm within that age range, healthy and fit and - mostly, tee hee - sane, but I could never serve in the military. Primarily because I can't imagine any reason to validate the "need" for violence, beyond personal self-defense. I am openly bisexual (half-gay?), I'm terribly nearsighted, and I have a problem with authority. Unless someone has a crop.[sm=crop.gif] In that case, I would LOOOVE to drop down and give you 20...

thishereboi -> RE: "70% Of Young People Unfit to Enlist" (11/19/2009 12:38:40 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Moonhead Are criminal records a problem with enlisting? I thought people were sometimes offered a choice between joining up or getting sent down over there. I think that depends on how hard up they are for men at any given time.

thishereboi -> RE: "70% Of Young People Unfit to Enlist" (11/19/2009 12:49:48 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Kayleighmarie199 you know i joined the us miliiary under lies i wanted to serve my country so bad. i did not tell them that house caved in on top of me or that i stoped taking my medicane a week before i joined. i told my recruter everything about my crazy past and he said dont tell them anything...The Military does not want people that have 1.overweight. however you can be very overweight and they will stay take you if you can do whats called the arms test. 2. you have to be off any meds for no less than a year 3. there are meny factors but im a trans male to female lez. so i not like guys i joined the military so that the money ihave saved up in 8 years would get me everything i meeded to be a girl. dont ask dont tell policy in the us military is straight bull shit if your gay or your trans they will find out and im telling you know you might die in iraq or over seas but you will die in you barracks. from person experance in the barracks two of my best friends were killed cuz they were gay if you are gay do not join the military its not gonna work yes there are righ now 22% of our military is gay they keep looking out for us what you do is your chois when it comes to the military i will say this if you join and they scare you with the we search line this is it all they do is see if you have a felony. your blood work is another thing they check on other than that they dont check up on things.. you can get a way with a lot but the military has a LOT of stress so think carefully Kayleigh So how did you get out or are you still serving?

popeye1250 -> RE: "70% Of Young People Unfit to Enlist" (11/19/2009 3:59:03 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Moonhead quote: ORIGINAL: popeye1250 A lot of the kids these days are simply too immature and self centered to be able to survive bootcamp. Not intended as a diss, but shouldn't bootcamp cure that? One would think so but Bootcamp does not exist to adjust to "you," you exist to adjust to Bootcamp. It's stressfull and it's physically and mentally challenging. If you're "psychologically weak" you won't make it. They don't hold your hand they kick your ass.

willbeurdaddy -> RE: "70% Of Young People Unfit to Enlist" (11/19/2009 4:04:15 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: popeye1250 quote: ORIGINAL: Moonhead quote: ORIGINAL: popeye1250 A lot of the kids these days are simply too immature and self centered to be able to survive bootcamp. Not intended as a diss, but shouldn't bootcamp cure that? One would think so but Bootcamp does not exist to adjust to "you," you exist to adjust to Bootcamp. It's stressfull and it's physically and mentally challenging. If you're "psychologically weak" you won't make it. They don't hold your hand they kick your ass. Why the "but", it should be "and"

popeye1250 -> RE: "70% Of Young People Unfit to Enlist" (11/19/2009 4:09:07 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: willbeurdaddy quote: ORIGINAL: popeye1250 quote: ORIGINAL: Moonhead quote: ORIGINAL: popeye1250 A lot of the kids these days are simply too immature and self centered to be able to survive bootcamp. Not intended as a diss, but shouldn't bootcamp cure that? One would think so but Bootcamp does not exist to adjust to "you," you exist to adjust to Bootcamp. It's stressfull and it's physically and mentally challenging. If you're "psychologically weak" you won't make it. They don't hold your hand they kick your ass. Why the "but", it should be "and" Wilbur, the "but" means it's entirely up to "you", whether you make it or not. They don't care if you wash out, they're not there to babysit you.

willbeurdaddy -> RE: "70% Of Young People Unfit to Enlist" (11/19/2009 4:14:31 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: popeye1250 quote: ORIGINAL: willbeurdaddy quote: ORIGINAL: popeye1250 quote: ORIGINAL: Moonhead quote: ORIGINAL: popeye1250 A lot of the kids these days are simply too immature and self centered to be able to survive bootcamp. Not intended as a diss, but shouldn't bootcamp cure that? One would think so but Bootcamp does not exist to adjust to "you," you exist to adjust to Bootcamp. It's stressfull and it's physically and mentally challenging. If you're "psychologically weak" you won't make it. They don't hold your hand they kick your ass. Why the "but", it should be "and" Wilbur, the "but" means it's entirely up to "you", whether you make it or not. They don't care if you wash out, they're not there to babysit you. which was consistent with moonhead, thus no but necessary. Although at 300 lb when I enlisted (ok about 20 of it was hair, lol) I was babysat a lot...through extra PT before and after everyone else!

Rhodes85 -> RE: "70% Of Young People Unfit to Enlist" (11/20/2009 12:10:14 AM)
'or only recently came to the USA from a foreign nation you're probably not qualified.' Actually enlisting in the US Army can speed your citizenship quite a bit. I know a couple of people that moved to the US and enlisted. They got in fine. 'carrying a disease like AIDs or herpes all disqualify.' tsk tsk....why didn't Klinger try that on MASH....all he had to do to get out of Korea would have been to find a hooker [:D] ' The flat feet thing is true. ' Not in Canada...theres been a few lawsuits over that over the years. ' I didn't realise that they'd stopped doing the join up or go to jail thing now. ' I heard somebody claimed it was unconstitutional? I'm not sure about the openly gay part getting you disqualified. The government already got sued a couple times over not allowing gays in at all... I think the ACLU lawyers would have a field day if they booted someone for being openly gay....

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