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| -Land of the Free |
| American youth too flabby to defend nation, retired generals say |
| 2020-12-30 |
| [WashingtonTimes] A group of retired military leaders is warning the Pentagon that most of America’s youth is too out of shape to defend the nation. The organization, known as "Mission Readiness" wants the Pentagon to help set up an interagency committee to address what it considers the nation’s military recruiting crisis. They recently sent a letter to acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, urging him to work with heads of other relevant federal departments and agencies to take a "holistic approach" to addressing issues ultimately impacting the ability of the military to recruit personnel.According to the Department of Defense, 71 percent of young Americans are unable to serve in uniform, largely due to obesity, drug abuse, a poor education or a crime record. "These factors largely fall outside of the Department of Defense’s purview but have an immense impact on the ability of the military to recruit new servicemembers as well as a significant monetary impact on the Department," of Defense, retired Air Force Gen. William M. Fraser and retired Coast Guard Adm. James M. Loy wrote in their letter. "Without coordinated actions, these trends pose a significant threat to the future of the all volunteer force," they wrote. The group of retired generals and admirals said an interagency advisory committee — made up of executive branch departments such as Justice, Education and Agriculture — could create a long-term strategy to address the issue and ensure more young Americans are able to join the military. "We believe this is a critical step to the sustainability of the all-volunteer force and critical for our future strength and national security," Gen. Fraser and Adm. Loy wrote in their letter. |
| Posted by:746 |
| #10 ...When I was recruiting for the USAF thirty-one years ago, we were telling the leadership this was coming. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2020-12-30 14:47 |
| #9 The solution is let it get bad enough to force our Country to reinstate the draft. I can believe it will get that bad with a Biden/Harris administration but if you think BLAMTIFA riots are bad, wait until you ask young men and women of good character to go to war for Democrats. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2020-12-30 13:06 |
| #8 So throw out the Vindmans and promote the Eddie Gallaghers. That should solve most of the readiness problem. |
| Posted by: Dron66046 2020-12-30 11:48 |
| #7 What's left worth defending, actually? |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2020-12-30 11:39 |
| #6 My advice is to not solve this issue. Why? Because it's not a problem to be solved. It's a symptom of a greater malaise. Society has reached a point where most needs are met with a minimal amount of effort as compared to what humans had to exert for 1000's of years. The solution is let it get bad enough to force our Country to reinstate the draft. This time for both sex's. This solves the problem on several fronts simultaneously. When people engage in a common hardship together it creates bonds that endure. It adds to an overall appreciation for our country. It allows all citizens to understand at a gut level that sacrifices are necessary to live the life we have. Solving this "issue" will not create the necessary common culture that we need to pull us together as citizens. The draft forces all income levels, all intellect and all aptitudes to a common denominator. Today we simply are loosing our commonality. Let it get so bad that we as a society have to reinstate the draft. 18 to 22 year olds today are about as mature as 12 year olds back in the 50's. Entitlement would swiftly fade away..... My two cents worth. |
| Posted by: Ospas Dhahran 2020-12-30 07:28 |
| #5 /\ Exactly correct. Very sad, but exactly correct. The well has been poisoned. One should not be blamed for not drinking from it. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2020-12-30 07:22 |
| #4 Most young people can get into shape relatively quickly with the proper environment and diet. The retired General should be more concerned with current military leadership showing a political bent that would discourage traditional patriotic American families from sending their well motivated and in physical shape children into the military. |
| Posted by: Airandee 2020-12-30 07:06 |
| #3 Welcome to the social petri dish. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2020-12-30 06:51 |
| #2 Showing a stress card tends to make one flabby. |
| Posted by: Clem 2020-12-30 06:34 |
| #1 "We believe this is a critical step to the sustainability of the all-volunteer force and critical for our future strength and national security," So you want to 'draft' these unfit woke youths? BTW you don't need as many if you quit being the worlds policeman. BTW 2, you have more generals per troop than you had in WW2 when you had millions in the ranks, what's up about that? |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2020-12-30 06:27 |