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I mentioned this study before in previous posts, but here are the facts about our nation’s unfit 17-24 year old population.  Will our children be improving in the most recent generation?

Mission: Readiness, an organization of retired senior military leaders,
recently released a report stating that 75% of Americans aged 17 to 24
years old are unable to join the military for one or more reasons.
Alarmingly, being overweight or obese is the leading medical reason why
applicants fail to qualify for military service.

*        27% are too heavy to serve in the military;
*        25% have not graduated from high school;
*        10% have criminal records; and
*        13% have other disqualifiers, such as asthma or drug use, or
multiple reasons they are unable to join.

To read the full report, please visit
http://cdn.missionreadiness.org/MR_Too_Fat_to_Fight-1.pdf.

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Editorial: Army tries new drills for unfit recruits

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WASHINGTON (Nov. 3, 2009) — Are America’s youth too fat, dumb or dishonest to defend the nation against its enemies?

The latest Army statistics show a stunning 75 percent of military-age youth are ineligible to join the military because they are overweight, can’t pass entrance exams, have dropped out of high school or had run-ins with the law.

So many young people between the prime recruiting ages of 17 and 24 cannot meet minimum standards that a group of retired military leaders is calling for more investment in early childhood education to combat the insidious effects of junk food and inadequate education.

“We’ve never had this problem of young people being obese like we have today,” said Gen. John Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

He calls the rising number of youth unfit for duty a matter of national security. “We should be concerned about how this will impact this overstretched Army and its ability to recruit.”

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Study: Most city youth deemed unacceptable for military service …

Jun 15, 2010… the military because they’re undereducated, too physically unfit or … “We’re looking for [early education programs] to be level-funded …

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