Defense.gov News Article: Recruiting On Track, But Officials Worry About Future
The number of youth eligible to enlist is limited, she said. Roughly 75 percent of American youth are not qualified for military service. “There are a number of reasons for this, but the main reasons among them are health and fitness issues,” Penrod said.
American Youth are Sick, Fat, Dumb, or Feloneous
Ineligible for Military Service – Up to 75 Percent of US Youth Ineligible for Military Service, Report Showswhen all the requirements are considered, only about two out of 10 young people (80% ineligible) are fully eligible to join the Army without any waivers, according to the Army’s Accessions Command. The number of others who are eligible with waivers depends on the service branch and where they draw the lines on waivers for educational deficits, legal offenses or health problems. In his March 2009 testimony, Curtis Gilroy, the Pentagon’s accessions policy director, testified that currently 75 percent of young Americans have problems that will keep them from joining the military.
- Have health problems – other than their weight (32%) – that will keep them from serving. Many are disqualified from serving for asthma, eyesight or hearing problems, mental health issues, or recent treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
- Overweight: 27% of young Americans are too overweight to join the military.8 Many are turned away by recruiters and others never try to join. Of those who attempt to join, however, roughly 15,000 young potential recruits fail their entrance physicals every year because they are too heavy.
- Failing education system - 25% have Inadequate education: Approximately one out of four young Americans lacks a high school diploma. Students who have received a general equivalency degree (GED) can sometimes receive a waiver if they score well enough on the military’s entrance exam. However, most of those who dropped out and obtained a GED instead of a regular degree do not possess sufficient math or reading skills to qualify.
- Criminality: 10%, One in 10 young adults cannot join because they have at least one prior conviction for a felony or serious misdemeanor (and for five percent of young adults, trouble with the law is the only thing keeping them out).
Well, if our youth can't do it, let's get someone else
“To expand the recruiting market, the department has long supported the enlistment of non-citizens, to the extent permitted by law, subject to these individuals to being otherwise qualified for service in the United States armed forces,” she said.Structural history of the Roman military - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
DOD is conducting a comprehensive review of immigration issues as they relate to serve in the armed forces. Penrod promised to share the conclusions of that review with Congress.
This sounds like something out of the later roman empire when they couldn't get enough citizens to serve and awarded citizenship through military diplomas.
Non-Citizens Make Better U.S. Soldiers* | TIME.com
Non-citizens are “a potential source of language and cultural skills that are of strategic importance to military operations outside of the U.S.,” the new Pentagon report notes. Adds an earlier study from the Center for Naval Analyses: “…relative to citizen recruits, non-citizen recruits generally have a stronger attachment to serving the United States, which they now consider to be `their country,’ and have a better work ethic.”While I think we should be glad to get help to defend the country from those who want to join us, and come seeking a place to live in freedom, I think it's extremely dangerous to build a recruiting strategy on getting others to fight for us. While non-citizens may bring "language and cultural skills", officers may need to learn to give orders, and tech and field manuals may need to be issued in multiple languages.
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