BenThum
Registered: 12/07/05
Posts: 1,988
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Reply with quote | #1 |
You think things are scary now? Just wait...
WASHINGTON (Nov. 3) -- Are America's youth too fat, dumb or dishonest to defend the nation against its enemies?
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.
So many young people between the prime recruiting ages of 17 and 24 cannot meet minimum standards that a group of retired military leaders is calling for more investment in early childhood education to combat the insidious effects of junk food and inadequate education.
"We've never had this problem of young people being obese like we have today," said Gen. John Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
He calls the rising number of youth unfit for duty a matter of national security. "We should be concerned about how this will impact this overstretched Army and its ability to recruit."
Shalikashvili is among dozens of retired generals, admirals and civilian Pentagon officials who have banded together as Mission Readiness: Military Leaders for Kids. The group, which includes former NATO commander and presidential candidate Wesley Clark, will appear with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at the National Press Club on Thursday to urge immediate action to reduce dropout rates and improve the physical and moral fitness of the nation's youth.
They will cite research that shows quality early childhood education raises graduation rates by up to 44 percent and reduces the odds of being arrested for a violent crime by age 18.
Douglas Smith of the U.S. Army Recruiting Command said 2008 data shows about three in 10 youths have an initial barrier to enlistment.
Most aren't insurmountable. "If you're overweight, we tell you to come back when you've lost the weight. If you don't score well on the armed forces aptitude test, we suggest you study and take it again," he said.
Between 2004 and 2008, the Army more than doubled the number of "conduct" waivers it granted to would-be soldiers with criminal or misdemeanor records. The loosened standards proved necessary in a time of war and amid a booming economy that forced military recruiters to work overtime to fill the ranks.
The new warnings about a generation of couch potatoes comes just weeks after the Pentagon announced its best recruiting year since the all-volunteer force began in 1974. The economic meltdown and rising unemployment, combined with bigger military bonuses and benefits, enticed hundreds of thousands to enlist despite the inevitability most would be sent to war.
The plethora of would-be recruits allowed the military services to be choosier after years of taking in more high school dropouts and those needing extra physical training to meet weight requirements.
Recruiting may have gotten easier, but "the good times don't stay forever," warned David Segal, a University of Maryland military sociologist. When the economy recovers and young people are able to get jobs or can afford to go to college, the military will be faced with the same out-of-shape, ill-prepared pool of recruits as before.
"Recruiting will get tough again," he said. "The trend line is clear: The youth population is getting less healthy."
Well, at least the military science boys are making good progress with Drone and Robot warfare. Just in time, too!
__________________
The Mississippi delta was shinin' like a national guitar...I am following the river Down the highway
thru the cradle of the civil war...headin' to Graceland...Graceland..Memphis, Tennessee...I'm goin' t'Graceland |
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djsteinb
Registered: 03/12/09
Posts: 226
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Reply with quote | #2 |
Well Ben, like I've posted many times before, we have the fatest, laziest, most ignorant population in western civilization. How else could "W" have been elected is positive proof of that. |
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Dude
Registered: 06/20/07
Posts: 1,096
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Reply with quote | #3 |
Hey Steiny, this message board is for paying members.
Join, or take a hike you free loader.
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djsteinb
Registered: 03/12/09
Posts: 226
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Reply with quote | #4 |
As usual Dude, you show your ignorance again. Chatten and I have contributed more to DV and the WPH than you ever will in your lifetime, or ten lifetimes for that matter. Freeloader? That would be you and most of your RepubliCON crooks. Take from the many and give more to the rich. |
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Watchez
Registered: 11/29/07
Posts: 126
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Reply with quote | #5 |
I did find some actual proof of contributions that Chatten has made. Nothing about Steinberg, but I guess her money is his money.
 | |  | | Chatten Hayes from zip code 97210Political contributions disclosed by campaign committees to the Federal Election Commission, sorted by name, zip code and employer. The data, from the FEC, covers the years 1979 through 2008.
Candidates| Chatten Hayes | | $500 to Darlene Hooley, Hooley For Congress from November 4, 1996 to October 26, 1998 | | Chatten Hayes, Writer | | $450 to David Wu, Dave Wu For Us Congress from October 27, 1998 to March 17, 2000 |
Committees| Chatten Hayes | | $500 to Hooley For Congress from November 4, 1996 to October 26, 1998 | | Chatten Hayes, Writer | | $450 to Dave Wu For Us Congress from October 27, 1998 to March 17, 2000 | | $250 to Elizabeth Furse For Congress on October 30, 1996 |
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| Chatten Hayes from zip code 97208Political contributions disclosed by campaign committees to the Federal Election Commission, sorted by name, zip code and employer. The data, from the FEC, covers the years 1979 through 2008. CandidatesCommittees| Chatten Hayes | | $250 to Emily'S List on September 12, 2006 |
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Syzlack
Registered: 12/08/05
Posts: 585
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djsteinb
Registered: 03/12/09
Posts: 226
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Reply with quote | #7 |
He's just showing us that he knows a little about Internet searches. Another small potato dreaming what he can't ever do. He's thinks he can be intimidating by posting decades old publicly available information. Whoppeee do, nice goin' moron.
Why don't you ask DV directly how much we've given him and post that? And while your at it, post how much you've given and we'll see who the real contributors are.
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djsteinb
Registered: 03/12/09
Posts: 226
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Reply with quote | #8 |
What you can't find watchez, is how much time we've contributed to the betterment of HB over the past 3 decades. That speaks volumes more than your $2.00 gifts, if any. |
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Watchez
Registered: 11/29/07
Posts: 126
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Reply with quote | #9 |
You are right, I'm broke. Does that make you better than me? Apparently by your comments it does. Interesting.
A trust fund to my family is confidence that your dinner plate will still be full and not eaten by a relative when you excuse yourself to go to the bathroom.
But if you are looking for someone else to contribute to and attempt to make you feel better about yourself - I'll give you my paypal address.
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djsteinb
Registered: 03/12/09
Posts: 226
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Reply with quote | #10 |
Look Watchez, you started this by commenting on our contributions. I was contributing to handball and I was broke too, and it was decades before I even met Chatten. So don't be commenting on who contributes.
And no one's status is defined by their wealth in my book.
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