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Report bodes terribly for most military recruits, nation
A report commissioned by the Bush Administration on the fitness of U.S. military recruits was released recently. And what it shows is not good news - not for the armed services or for the country as a whole.
According to the study, 70 percent of recruits - those who try to sign up for military service - are rejected because they fail to meet minimum standards. The three primary reasons are obesity, lack of education or criminal records. Granted, this is not 70 percent of all young people, just those who want to join the military.
Nonetheless, in a military that relies more and more on high-tech weaponry, having 70 percent of your potential recruits as functional illiterates does not bode well. Some of the education issues are language based. Lack of proficiency with English is key. Many recruits grew up speaking a different language at home, and however many years of public education they had failed to fix the problems. But often the issue is deeper. Many of the recruits cannot do simple math or read past an elementary school level.
Mission: Readiness, a nonpartisan Washington, D.C., organization led by former military brass, says more than a quarter of potential recruits are too obese to be accepted into the military; one in four students leaves high school without graduating; and one in 10 youngsters has a criminal conviction. Military branches generally require clean records and high school diplomas to enlist.
The report, titled "Ready, Willing and Unable to Serve," is meant to support efforts to fund early childhood education, which Mission: Readiness says would raise the number of those fit to serve. Funding childhood education will not help with obesity. Since the introduction of video games, kids spend more time in front of a screen than they do outside. The result is a generation of fat kids who can't perform minimum physical activities.
All of this often comes as a surprise to potential recruits, who viewed joining the armed forces as their ace in the hole if other things didn't work out. But the military has changed, and recruits need a high school diploma and basic fitness to be accepted. And a clean record is also necessary.
A generation of obese, functionally illiterate kids does not speak well for our current educational system or parenting skills. It will be difficult for the United States to maintain its position in the world if we can't do better with our young people.
According to the study, 70 percent of recruits - those who try to sign up for military service - are rejected because they fail to meet minimum standards. The three primary reasons are obesity, lack of education or criminal records. Granted, this is not 70 percent of all young people, just those who want to join the military.
Nonetheless, in a military that relies more and more on high-tech weaponry, having 70 percent of your potential recruits as functional illiterates does not bode well. Some of the education issues are language based. Lack of proficiency with English is key. Many recruits grew up speaking a different language at home, and however many years of public education they had failed to fix the problems. But often the issue is deeper. Many of the recruits cannot do simple math or read past an elementary school level.
Mission: Readiness, a nonpartisan Washington, D.C., organization led by former military brass, says more than a quarter of potential recruits are too obese to be accepted into the military; one in four students leaves high school without graduating; and one in 10 youngsters has a criminal conviction. Military branches generally require clean records and high school diplomas to enlist.
The report, titled "Ready, Willing and Unable to Serve," is meant to support efforts to fund early childhood education, which Mission: Readiness says would raise the number of those fit to serve. Funding childhood education will not help with obesity. Since the introduction of video games, kids spend more time in front of a screen than they do outside. The result is a generation of fat kids who can't perform minimum physical activities.
All of this often comes as a surprise to potential recruits, who viewed joining the armed forces as their ace in the hole if other things didn't work out. But the military has changed, and recruits need a high school diploma and basic fitness to be accepted. And a clean record is also necessary.
A generation of obese, functionally illiterate kids does not speak well for our current educational system or parenting skills. It will be difficult for the United States to maintain its position in the world if we can't do better with our young people.
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