US military desperate to find recruits.

[Mushroom]

Most young Americans are too fat and mentally ill to join the Army, so the Army will have to offer large sums of Money or hire directly abroad, maybe even open up for handicapped people in the future.

That is not what your reference said.

Only about one-quarter of young Americans are even eligible for service these days, a shrinking pool limited by an increasing number of potential recruits who are overweight or are screened out due to minor criminal infractions, including the use of recreational drugs such as marijuana.

Funny, no mention of mental illness at all. However, in many states drug use is now keeping many who want to join out.

And come now, "large sums of money"? In the case of most, it comes to a whopping $2-4,000 a year at most. Which goes on top of an annual paycheck to most of around $25k per year.

The thing is that to many, the military is simply not a path they want to go into. Especially as politically, one side of the political fence now tends to look down on those who serve. Try going through California in uniform, and it often seems like being in a hostile country.

 

[Dayton3]

Most young Americans are too fat and mentally ill to join the Army

Provide a link to an unbiased site or it isn't true at all.

 

[Mushroom]

Provide a link to an unbiased site or it isn't true at all.

Actually, I can confirm the first part of that myself from first-hand experience.

At one time, you could join the military if you were no more than 10% above your mandated body fat levels. Because it was assumed that most of that would be worked off in relatively short order. I know in boot camp we had one guy that was over 200 pounds when he joined, and three months later had dropped to 160.

However, today an individual must be at their allowed body fat content or they can not join.

Now that is not all that hard to lose, if somebody really wants to join. So for the majority of those "too fat", that is a complete copout. Those current standards could easily be changed to what they were decades ago, especially in the Army and Marines which would more than likely burn off all of the excess weight during boot camp alone. The percentage of the population that is of military age and is "morbidly obese" (80-100+ pounds over suggested body weight) is actually rather small.

However, the fact that more and more states are allowing drug use I think is going to have a larger long term effect. As that will eliminate any who use them from joining. And over the decades, I have seen fewer and fewer even considering joining the military.

Heck, the military in the US is already starting to creep towards being a "family business", as each year the percent who join that are the offspring or close family member of a veteran is growing, and those who have no close family member is shrinking. Many of us are worried that if this continues, in another few decades most of our military will be almost hereditary. Where only those who are sons and daughters of veterans will even want to serve in the first place.

 

[Dayton3]

Heck, the military in the US is already starting to creep towards being a "family business", as each year the percent who join that are the offspring or close family member of a veteran is growing, and those who have no close family member is shrinking. Many of us are worried that if this continues, in another few decades most of our military will be almost hereditary. Where only those who are sons and daughters of veterans will even want to serve in the first place.

What's wrong with that?

 

[Mushroom]

What's wrong with that?

I am one that believes that the military should be a broad spectrum of the US population. That if it someday becomes a "family business", then it will no longer be in touch with most of the country.

Hell, just today at work I overheard three gals talking about friends and family members they had that served. "Dangerous", "crazy", and "unstable" was how they were describing them. I just kept my mouth shut, but this is the kind of thing I am seeing more and more as the disconnect between the general population and those who serve grows larger and larger.

 

[Dayton3]

I am one that believes that the military should be a broad spectrum of the US population. That if it someday becomes a "family business", then it will no longer be in touch with most of the country.

Hell, just today at work I overheard three gals talking about friends and family members they had that served. "Dangerous", "crazy", and "unstable" was how they were describing them. I just kept my mouth shut, but this is the kind of thing I am seeing more and more as the disconnect between the general population and those who serve grows larger and larger.

Then we should take my suggestion and restart conscription shouldn't we?

 

[Zincwarrior]

Military Throwing Cash at Recruiting Crisis as Troops Head for the Exits

For now, the services are leaning on record-level enlistment and retention bonuses meant to attract and keep America's military staffed and ready -- bonuses that continue to climb.

www.military.com

Most young Americans are too fat and mentally ill to join the Army, so the Army will have to offer large sums of Money or hire directly abroad, maybe even open up for handicapped people in the future.

How many tens of thousands of Russian dead now? Thanks Putin!

 

[Mushroom]

Then we should take my suggestion and restart conscription shouldn't we?

No, I am actually against that unless we are facing a major conflict like WWII.

However, we should make changes to the "up or out" system, as that is forcing out a lot of people who want careers, but for various reasons can not rise in rank as fast as the military thinks they should.

But for more people to join, that is really becoming more about culture. The famous words of JFK are now long forgotten, and more and more of the youth today are only interested in their own needs. And politically the military is being seen as a bad thing to do.

"I don't want to sound like an ad, a public service ad on TV, but the fact is if you can read, you can walk into a job later on. If you don't, then you've got the Army, Iraq, I don't know, something like that. It's not as bright."

Stephen King in an address to Congress in 2008

Things like that and more make it less and less likely that people will join the military, as it is actually now seen as a bad thing to do among many. A great many "enlightened" people see the military as nothing but stupid thugs, criminals, and morons. And this is now "accepted truth" among the "liberals" in the country.

And this can even be seen in the breakdown in Congress. Right now, we have the lowest number of veterans in Congress since before WWII.

There are 535 members of Congress.

Right now, only 91 Veterans are in Congress.

Of those 91, 13 served during Vietnam or earlier.

Of those 90, 50 served during or after 2000.
'
However, then you get these facts.

49 of those 91 have served overseas in combat deployments.

And of those 91, 28 are Democrats, 63 are Republicans.

To me, the last statistic troubles me the worst. If the military is to reflect all aspects of "American Life", why do Republicans outnumber Democrats in this area by over 2 to 1? In this, the Democrats really need to up their game, and stop trying to put down those that serve. I know in the 1980's we still had "Conservative Democrats" who were very pro-military, and were well respected by the military regardless of their political party. Today, it is quite different.

And if this continues, Democrats will grow increasingly rare in the military, and it will shift even farther Conservative than it already is.

Remember, I am a moderate. I see good and bad in both parties, but am against any kind of "single party rule". Of any part of the Government, of either side. But I think if anybody who served is being honest, the Republicans are far more interested in the military than the Democrats are. And the shifting demographics of those who serve is showing that.

 

[whitehall]

Signup bonus, G.I. Bill and no serious combat going on and yet you can't get the selfish generation to give up a couple of years for military service. If Biden can pay off student loans for selfish kids, I wonder if old Vets like me can get a retroactive bonus for enlisting?

 

[CaptainRussia]

Signup bonus, G.I. Bill and no serious combat going on and yet you can't get the selfish generation to give up a couple of years for military service. If Biden can pay off student loans for selfish kids, I wonder if old Vets like me can get a retroactive bonus for enlisting?

Cant blame them if their country keeps sending them to die over nothing.

 

[Dayton3]

Cant blame them if their country keeps sending them to die over nothing.

We don't.

 

[CaptainRussia]

We don't.

Then what happened in Afghanistan, Vietnam or now Syria and Yemen, what is your army achieving there other than draining your taxpayers money and sending soldiers to die for nothing?

 

[Dayton3]

Then what happened in Afghanistan, Vietnam or now Syria and Yemen, what is your army achieving there other than draining your taxpayers money and sending soldiers to die for nothing?

The U.S. didn't send anyone to Yemen.

And I do not think you give a damn about American taxpayers aside from supporting your imbecilic point.

 

[CaptainRussia]

The U.S. didn't send anyone to Yemen.

And I do not think you give a damn about American taxpayers aside from supporting your imbecilic point.

They co-ordinate Saudi attacks on Yemen, so they participate in the war, in a sense.

As for the rest, wouldnt you be angry to waste years in a country, see dozens of your friends die only to find out you never won the war and retreat while your terrorists enjoy themselves with your weapons and "aid" worth billions of dollars?

 

[Dayton3]

They co-ordinate Saudi attacks on Yemen, so they participate in the war, in a sense.

As for the rest, wouldnt you be angry to waste years in a country, see dozens of your friends die only to find out you never won the war and retreat while your terrorists enjoy themselves with your weapons and "aid" worth billions of dollars?

To the former So
To the latter No.

 

[CaptainRussia]

To the former So
To the latter No.

The Houthis are manhandling the Saudis and put the US to shame.
As for the latter. It matters not to me, its your money, your lives and your resources that go to waste, not ours. Fact still is, you lost those wars and you will loose in Syria and Yemen as well.

 

[Dayton3]

The Houthis are manhandling the Saudis and put the US to shame.
As for the latter. It matters not to me, its your money, your lives and your resources that go to waste, not ours. Fact still is, you lost those wars and you will loose in Syria and Yemen as well.

If it doesn't matter to you then why do you bother posting on a largely American board?

 

[CaptainRussia]

If it doesn't matter to you then why do you bother posting on a largely American board?

Because i want to argue with American users and Youtube and Reddit dont give me the chance.

 

[Dayton3]

Because i want to argue with American users and Youtube and Reddit dont give me the chance.

You can't post opinions of videos on YouTube?

 

[Mushroom]

Then what happened in Afghanistan, Vietnam or now Syria and Yemen, what is your army achieving there other than draining your taxpayers money and sending soldiers to die for nothing?

And what can be said about the USSR-Russia in Afghanistan, and now Ukraine?