75% of american youth can't join the army

[nubly]

and the army is the easiest branch to get into.

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.

http://www.sphere.com/2009/11/03/70-...litary-duty%2F

[DitzyDreamer]

Overweight? Wouldn't that be all the more reason to join the army and get fit?

And aren't the entrance exams fairly easy, like junior high easy?

Also, wouldn't putting a juvenile deliquent through the military be beneficial for him/her? Straighten him/her out maybe?

[Mr. Frostie]

Lucky for them.

[Cerberus]

It's a sad state of a affairs if the youth are so physically unfit that they can't join the army if they wanted to. The hedonism of this country will be our downfall.

[millenniumman75]

Great.....The Biggest Loser....Junior Edition.

[shyvr6]

I think the army has a program now where potential recruits get on a fitness program around six months before they join so they will be eligible for enlistment. Still bad that so many are overweight though.

[UltraShy]

Originally Posted by nubly

and the army is the easiest branch to get into.

I'm sure current & former members of the Army will be thrilled with your comments.

I get the weight thing, but how bright do you have to be for use as cannon fodder? If you can figure out which end of the gun to point at the enemy, that seems adequate.

And if one was really smart, what are the odds they'd want to join the Army anyhow? Smart teens tend to go to college rather than into war.

This post nicely compliments my recent post on the Selective Service. This means we have a list of potential draftees where the vast majority are too fat, too dumb, or too criminal.

[JFmtl]

Originally Posted by DitzyDreamer

Overweight? Wouldn't that be all the more reason to join the army and get fit?

And aren't the entrance exams fairly easy, like junior high easy?

Also, wouldn't putting a juvenile deliquent through the military be beneficial for him/her? Straighten him/her out maybe?

I guess the army isn't a gym, you don't join just for the sake of getting in shape, they have minimal requirements.

As for putting juvenile delinquent in the military, I don't think that it's a one-fits-all solution. I'm sure some of those would benefit from a passage in the army, but I'm also sure it would be a disastrous for others and maybe worsen their cases, not everyone reacts the same way to the same thing and the army isn't for everyone either.

Plus, would that be insulting to the "real" voluntary in the army to ask them to trust with their lives some conscript-delinquent on the battlefield?

And his HS diploma really required? At worse, could they say that after 18 or 21 (either majority or legal drinking age), you can join regardless of your scholar resume?

[KyleThomas]

But do they want to join the army anyway?

I certainly wouldn't want to.

[nubly]

Originally Posted by UltraShy

I'm sure current & former members of the Army will be thrilled with your comments.

eh. its a running joke in the army.

Originally Posted by UltraShy

I get the weight thing, but how bright do you have to be for use as cannon fodder? If you can figure out which end of the gun to point at the enemy, that seems adequate.

yea the way the teaching system works needs to be changed.

Originally Posted by UltraShy

And if one was really smart, what are the odds they'd want to join the Army anyhow? Smart teens tend to go to college rather than into war.

well like i said in the other thread, there are non combat jobs such as doctors, lawyers, IT, analysts, etc. officers, whether they are in the infantry or the medica corps, need at least a four year college degree.

Originally Posted by UltraShy

This post nicely compliments my recent post on the Selective Service. This means we have a list of potential draftees where the vast majority are too fat, too dumb, or too criminal.

and that scares me.

[Kelly]

Aw, shucks, I guess we'll just have to find another way to solve our problems.

Have a nice day,
Kelly

[Your Crazy]

I never understood the point of the army. I'm going to risk losing my arms, legs, and sanity to fight a bull**** war just so they can pay for my college? You can't attend class if you're dead...

Which is why I never got the whole "support our troops" thing. They chose to go over there and put their lives on the line, so why should I stand still and cry when they pass me on the street?

[Amocholes]

When I was in Navy boot camp we had to run 1 1/2 miles in 20 minutes. That is a fast walk. We had guys who couldn't do it. That was 30 years ago.

[UltraShy]

Originally Posted by Amocholes

When I was in Navy boot camp we had to run 1 1/2 miles in 20 minutes. That is a fast walk. We had guys who couldn't do it. That was 30 years ago.

Well, if you didn't let them eat for a couple days and there was a McDonald's at they end they might just make it. Incentive is needed.

[Lovesick Loner]

Does the army have certain standards for vision without corrective lenses? I know I am legally blind without contacts or glasses. If I was in combat and lost my glasses, I would be completely useless.

[millenniumman75]

Don't eat cookies!
Don't eat cookies!

I run six miles four times a week. I don't time myself. I just want to be healthy.

[pyramidsong]

Originally Posted by Your Crazy

I never understood the point of the army. I'm going to risk losing my arms, legs, and sanity to fight a bull**** war just so they can pay for my college? You can't attend class if you're dead...

Which is why I never got the whole "support our troops" thing. They chose to go over there and put their lives on the line, so why should I stand still and cry when they pass me on the street?

^This.

It's a very unpopular opinion, but I *don't* support the troops. If you are from a Western country and have other opportunities for employment but choose to enlist then get sent into an illegal war, then you are part of the problem. They don't HAVE to go if they object on ethical grounds. Sure, there are legal consequences but surely that's better than bombing the crap out of innocents for oil?

[UltraShy]

Originally Posted by Lovesick Loner

Does the army have certain standards for vision without corrective lenses? I know I am legally blind without contacts or glasses. If I was in combat and lost my glasses, I would be completely useless.

If they ruled out anyone who didn't have natural 20/20 vision how many are left with when the dropouts, physically unfit, drug users, and criminals are already rejected?

I'm not sure how one takes care of contacts lenses (as I've worn for the last 25 years) in combat, nor how you're supposed to fight with glasses when they fog up or can have sweat or rain dripping down the lenses.

I think the Air Force demands that their pilots have 20/20 vision without correction, which seems a reasonable form of discrimination when flying a plane that could cost up to half a billion dollars and be carrying a nuclear payload to literally remove a city from the map.

[nubly]

Originally Posted by Your Crazy

Which is why I never got the whole "support our troops" thing. They chose to go over there and put their lives on the line, so why should I stand still and cry when they pass me on the street?

you support them so they can risk their life for your freedom.

Originally Posted by Lovesick Loner

Does the army have certain standards for vision without corrective lenses? I know I am legally blind without contacts or glasses. If I was in combat and lost my glasses, I would be completely useless.

they give you glasses. ugly thick durable things.

Originally Posted by pyramidsong

It's a very unpopular opinion, but I *don't* support the troops. If you are from a Western country and have other opportunities for employment but choose to enlist then get sent into an illegal war, then you are part of the problem. They don't HAVE to go if they object on ethical grounds. Sure, there are legal consequences but surely that's better than bombing the crap out of innocents for oil?

tell me where did the UN said its an illegal war

[Micronian]

Originally Posted by UltraShy

If they ruled out anyone who didn't have natural 20/20 vision how many are left with when the dropouts, physically unfit, drug users, and criminals are already rejected?

I'm not sure how one takes care of contacts lenses (as I've worn for the last 25 years) in combat, nor how you're supposed to fight with glasses when they fog up or can have sweat or rain dripping down the lenses.

I think the Air Force demands that their pilots have 20/20 vision without correction, which seems a reasonable form of discrimination when flying a plane that could cost up to half a billion dollars and be carrying a nuclear payload to literally remove a city from the map.

...except that you're in a perfectly safe cockpit, within an aircraft that's like 90% computerized, with the most advanced visual aids. And yet, some guy is out there drenched in rain, treading through mud, fog, constant explosions/smoke, and has to stop for a couple of minutes to drop some visine on his contacts.

Doesn't that NOT make sense?

There are many professional, top level, race car drivers who use corrective lenses and can still drive super fast and have lightning reflexes, and yet you can't fly a jet because you need corrective lenses? That's a joke!