Future Airmen

[MACHINE666]

Most U.S. youths unfit to serve, data show

By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Nov 3, 2009 20:51:46 EST

U.S. military-age youth are increasingly unfit to serve — mostly because they’re in such lousy shape.

According to the latest Pentagon figures, a full 35 percent, or more than one-third, of the roughly 31.2 million Americans aged 17 to 24 are unqualified for military service because of physical and medical issues. And, said Curt Gilroy, the Pentagon’s director of accessions, “the major component of this is obesity. We have an obesity crisis in the country. There’s no question about it.”

The Pentagon draws its data from the Centers for Disease Control, which regularly tracks obesity. The steadily rising trend is not good news for military recruiters, despite their recent successes, nor for the overall health of the U.S. population.

In 1987, according to the CDC, a mere 6 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds, or about 1 out of 20, were obese. In 2008, 22 years later, 23 percent of that age group — almost 1 out of 4 — was considered to be obese.

The CDC measures obesity by body mass index, a figure calculated from height and weight that is considered a reliable indicator of body fatness for most people. According to the CDC, the body mass index for a man standing 6 feet, 2 inches tall and weighing 170 pounds is 21.8; the normal range lies between 18.5 and 24.9. Below that range is considered underweight; a BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight. A person with a body mass index of 30 or greater is considered to be obese.

Obese individuals are at increased risk for a number of diseases and health conditions, including hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, some cancers and other problems, according to the CDC. In addition to those concerns, the military rejects obese recruits in part because so much extra weight likely couldn’t be dropped during the course of basic training — even if they could get through the entire program.

“Kids are just not able to do push-ups,” Gilroy said. “And they can’t do pull-ups. And they can’t run.”

The reasons are “almost common knowledge, Gilroy said — what he called “the couch potato syndrome” and the widespread elimination of scholastic physical fitness programs.

Mission: Readiness
In a study being released Thursday in Washington, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and a group of retired military officers led by former Army Gen. Wesley Clark will sound the alarm bells and call young Americans’ relative lack of overall fitness for military duty a national security threat. The group, Mission: Readiness, will release a report that draws on Pentagon data showing that 75 percent of the nation’s 17- to 24-year-olds are ineligible for service for a variety of reasons.

Put another way, only 4.7 million of the 31.2 million 17- to 24-year-olds in a 2007 survey are eligible to enlist, according to a periodic survey commissioned by the Pentagon. This group includes those who have scored in the top four categories on the Armed Forces Qualification Test, or AQFT; eligible college graduates; and qualified college students.

According to the Pentagon, the ineligible population breaks down this way:

*Medical/physical problems, 35 percent.

*Illegal drug use, 18 percent.

*Mental Category V (the lowest 10 percent of the population), 9 percent.

*Too many dependents under age 18, 6 percent.

*Criminal record, 5 percent.

Waivers
Some conditions or situations can be waivered or are periodically loosened by the services, as is the case with certain medical conditions, such as asthma. Waiverable examples include limited marijuana use and having too many dependents. For example, the Pentagon says a waiver is required when an applicant is married and has more than two dependents under 18, or is unmarried and has custody of any dependents under 18. Waiver policies vary depending on the needs of the service.

The group of potential enlistees is further slimmed by the “propensity to serve” among American youths, which social scientists say also is declining. According to Gilroy, research shows that about 12 percent of all U.S. military-eligible youth show an interest in military service.

The Pentagon just finished a record year for recruiting. Every active and reserve component met or exceeded both their numeric and quality recruiting goals for fiscal 2009. Each easily exceeded the Pentagon goal of having at least 90 percent of recruits be high school graduates, and having 60 percent or more score at or above the 50th percentile on the AFQT.

But the weak economy has helped, as has increased spending on recruiting. And given the ever-shrinking pool of potential candidates, concern grows. Bill Carr, undersecretary of defense for military personnel policy, says that to maintain the force, the military has to attract more than 15 percent of qualified young Americans.

The difference is, to some degree, made up through the use of waivers. About 1 in 5 recruits still requires a waiver of some sort to enter the service, with about two-thirds for conduct and one-third for medical issues, Carr said.

Heh. The Army didn't have any difficulty adjusting its standards to meet recruiting goals - I've seen some pretty big men and women in ABUs here in Germany. I'm guessing the Air Force is going to have a conniption if it has to do the same thing eventually. I find the whole thing hilarious because as much as the AF focuses on being Johnny Poster-Boy, they have no control over society and cannot impose their fitness standards on the public no matter how much they fuss and whine. I guess we'll end up going civilian contracted in the future after all!

[BigT2002]

Once we get a CSAF that isn't a puppet to the CJCS and SecDef, things will change. At this point, all the last CMSAF and the last two CSAF's were about making sure we didn't get made fun of by other branches. If it adjusts, then it adjusts.

[Sgt HULK]

the problem is our own selves here.

Video games computers wow xbox all this crap.

I am prob showing my age here but I am sure we can all remember that when you got home from school. its homework, get into your play clothes and get out of the house til dinner. the weekends it was get up breakfast chores get out of the house til lunch then get out til dinner. running all day climbing trees football bike riding etc.

today its computer wow xbox tv. etc etc. parents dont make thier kids do crap anymore

sure we have a nation of engineers because some 10yrs can crack and iphone

but everyone is fat and out of shape.. Times have changed mentality has changed. and its gonna get worse alot worse

[riderbike]

If this doesn't make you sink in your chair and say "Holy Shit!!", you need to punch yourself in the throat.

This is absolutely pathetic. This speaks to so many issues in our society right now. It highlights a lack of leadership by everyone from parents, to government officials, to school board members. It's shameful that we have developed a culture that is so apathetic that they can't muster the energy to keep themselves in any semblence of MARGINAL health. At 17-24, you are supposed to be at the PEAK of your physical health. Natural physical resiliance, ability, and all that....What do you think these people will look like when they are 35, 45, 60???? You think health care is a problem now.....?

Tell me how a nation can defend itself if 1out of every 3 persons is so disgustingly weak that they aren't even fit to do a day's work?????? WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!

If you are one of these kids, please, dear GOD - take some interest in yourself that extends beyond your next text message and Big Mac. Walking is not exercise, any more than breathing is. Stop fooling yourself and get outside and SWEAT. And if you are the parent of one of these kids, please get them off the couch / bed / chair, take their phone from them and make them DO SOMETHING.....

[KT3]

Originally Posted by Sgt HULK

the problem is our own selves here.

Video games computers wow xbox all this crap.

I am prob showing my age here but I am sure we can all remember that when you got home from school. its homework, get into your play clothes and get out of the house til dinner. the weekends it was get up breakfast chores get out of the house til lunch then get out til dinner. running all day climbing trees football bike riding etc.

today its computer wow xbox tv. etc etc. parents dont make thier kids do crap anymore

sure we have a nation of engineers because some 10yrs can crack and iphone

but everyone is fat and out of shape.. Times have changed mentality has changed. and its gonna get worse alot worse

Don't forget about the $1 menus that every fast food has. Sure that ppl play on their VGs every day now; however, having a few double cheeseburgers and a medium soda drink every day doesn't help with their weigh control. Parents are not helping by buying it because in their minds is cheap and easy to get.

[NRTrackChamp2004]

Originally Posted by riderbike

If this doesn't make you sink in your chair and say "Holy Shit!!", you need to punch yourself in the throat

haha! that made me laugh. But, I definitely agree with that you said.

[ConfusedAirman]

Originally Posted by riderbike

This speaks to so many issues in our society right now. It highlights a lack of leadership by everyone from parents, to government officials, to school board members.

It's not the government's business and school boards have their hands tied with teaching academics. (And yes, kids are being taught the benefits of exercise, but what kid listens to that crap.) Kids don't need organized exercise in school - that is boring. They need to walk, skip, run, crawl, jump, climb, swim, and anything else that moves their body to play and have a fun time interacting with others and exploring their surroundings. But they have parents who allow an electronic age to turn their kids into passive observers because this is easy babysitting. Parents encourage a fast/processed food culture because it is easier for them to prepare and less complaints from kids. Parents don't let kids play and explore on their own because the boogie-man might get them. Parents don't get out and play with their kids because they are just too busy doing what they want for personal enjoyment versus accepting that the future of their kids is more important.

[riderbike]

Originally Posted by ConfusedAirman

It's not the government's business and school boards have their hands tied with teaching academics. (And yes, kids are being taught the benefits of exercise, but what kid listens to that crap.) Kids don't need organized exercise in school - that is boring. They need to walk, skip, run, crawl, jump, climb, swim, and anything else that moves their body to play and have a fun time interacting with others and exploring their surroundings. But they have parents who allow an electronic age to turn their kids into passive observers because this is easy babysitting. Parents encourage a fast/processed food culture because it is easier for them to prepare and less complaints from kids. Parents don't let kids play and explore on their own because the boogie-man might get them. Parents don't get out and play with their kids because they are just too busy doing what they want for personal enjoyment versus accepting that the future of their kids is more important.

I agree with everything you've said. I would add, however, that with the gov't moving into the healthcare business, which will drastically affect us - our paychecks, our options as far as care, etc. etc., that it is the govt's business to some degree. Not to mandate PT, but when they cut school funding which in turn removes Phys Ed and other programs, they definitely have a role.

I think the school boards have more of a responsibility in every sense, teaching the basics of health and nutrition(academics), having more control over what they offer in the lunchrooms, having more athletic classes and opportunities during the school day - where these kids spends the majority of their time. It's ridiculous for a high school student to only need one semester of Phys Ed throughout their entire high school span to graduate. And these kids clearly won't do it if you don't make them.

Ultimately, I agree that the biggest faliure is with the parents. We now have successive generations of parents that don't even KNOW how to cook for their family. Everything comes premade and goes into the microwave or gets handed to them through a window. TV and XBox is the baby-sitter and all our "Friends" are on our MySpace page - you don't need to walk or bike to their house anymore.

(And keep in mind, I was never an athlete. I grew up smoking cigarettes and drinking more than I should have, but it was offset to some degree by fact that I skateboarded everywhere and there was no damn computer to sit behind for days at a time.)

[MACHINE666]

I will laugh my ass off when the Air Force starts to make us wear advertisements on our PT gear for McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Hostess, Kraft Foods, Nestle, etc because we're so broke and it will be the only way we can afford to pay the bills at the end of the month! It will reinforce our Drive-Thru lifestyle as well as our co-dependence to fast food, and the fact that ultimately the fitness Nazis lost to crass consumerism and evil capitalism.

But on a similar but separate note, why izzit so many nurses in the Air Force look like Hungry-Hungry Hippos? Perhaps I'm not understanding the medical world as it is, but last I checked they're required to maintain the same dress and appearance standards as the rest of us, plus be able to lift and manuever heavy dudes on a 12 hour basis, not waddle over to the snack fund and shove Twinkies in their mouth. I've seen it recently at the clinic in my location but also for the times I've undergone surgery in Okinawa and elsewhere too.

Not to de-rail a thread so early on, but........

[bb stacker]

the ones i had in afghanistan and germany were the hotness!!