Only 25% of Americans between 17 and 24 are qualified to join the military

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/05/new-report-says-percent-young-americans-unfit-military-service/

Apparently a third of the 75% who isn't qualified aren't qualified due to being overweight alone. The rest are from medical conditions, not being able to pass the ASVAB (the test you have to take to join the military), being single parents with joint or full custody, admitted past drug use (obviously people may lie about this if they think it'll keep them out), or criminal records. Looks like things are a lot different from 40 years ago when you could literally be pulled out of jail to go into the military. Obviously, there's not much you can do if someone isn't qualified because they have a medical disability, such as asthma or autism. But what about the rest who aren't qualified due to stuff they could prevent such as being overweight (not due to a medical condition) or having criminal records? Is it the kid's fault or should bad parenting be blamed? Before anybody says it, I'm fully aware the vast majority of those people who fall in that 75% of unqualified individuals doesn't care because they probably never wanted to join anyway.

im one of those people:D

fit to join the military

yeah I don't qualify because of medical conditions.

Maybe some people should stop being lazy and hop on a treadmill.

That doesn't surprise me. A very high percentage of society has some kind of mental or physical disability that would automatically disqualify them.

I have flat feet and bad ankles so I know I do not qualify for the military. PoeticTheory

Flat feet doesn't disqualify you anymore unless is specifically limits your ability to run or march. Your knees might depending on how bad they are, not too long ago we had a 35-year old man with two knee surgeries join.

To me, this is the most disturbing part of the article:

One of the main reason recruits don't qualify for the service is inadequate education. One in four between the ages of 17 and 24 does not have a high school diploma, according to the report. And many who do still fail the military's version of the SAT, known as the Armed Forces Qualification Test.

Of course, every cloud has a silver lining. At least we know the US military is not compromising its recruitment standards at a time when it really needs personnel.

[QUOTE="PoeticTheory"]I have flat feet and bad ankles so I know I do not qualify for the military. ad1x2

Flat feet doesn't disqualify you anymore unless is specifically limits your ability to run or march. Your knees might depending on how bad they are, not too long ago we had a 35-year old man with two knee surgeries join.

well i can't becuase i am not american...

That doesn't surprise me. A very high percentage of society has some kind of mental or physical disability that would automatically disqualify them.

Pirate700

To me, this is the most disturbing part of the article:

One of the main reason recruits don't qualify for the service is inadequate education. One in four between the ages of 17 and 24 does not have a high school diploma, according to the report. And many who do still fail the military's version of the SAT, known as the Armed Forces Qualification Test.

Of course, every cloud has a silver lining. At least we know the US military is not compromising its recruitment standards at a time when it really needs personnel.

Danm_999

[QUOTE="ad1x2"]

[QUOTE="PoeticTheory"]I have flat feet and bad ankles so I know I do not qualify for the military. PoeticTheory

Flat feet doesn't disqualify you anymore unless is specifically limits your ability to run or march. Your knees might depending on how bad they are, not too long ago we had a 35-year old man with two knee surgeries join.

With that, you wouldn't be qualified. Although it's possible you might need surgery as well. The guy I mentioned with the two surgeries had the same problem and after he got fixed he was running two miles in 14 minutes, putting most of the 18-year old kids who were in basic with him to shame.

To me, this is the most disturbing part of the article:

One of the main reason recruits don't qualify for the service is inadequate education. One in four between the ages of 17 and 24 does not have a high school diploma, according to the report. And many who do still fail the military's version of the SAT, known as the Armed Forces Qualification Test.

Of course, every cloud has a silver lining. At least we know the US military is not compromising its recruitment standards at a time when it really needs personnel.

Danm_999

Yeah, the thing that surprised me even more than finding out how good I did on the test ( 80), was that the majority of people who take it barely qualify to get in, if at all ( in the low to mid 30s for most branches)

Thinking of the other stat up there, about 1/4th not having High School diplomas. Fun fact, Air Force is the only branch you can't get in with a GED (unless they changed it recently)

Ah well I served so I'm part of the 25%...LJS9502_basic

I don't see what the problem is.

Well then that means I'm in that percentage as you read this.

Fun fact, Air Force is the only branch you can't get in with a GED (unless they changed it recently)

SamusFreak

Actually, no branch is accepting GEDs right now except in very, very limited situations. Blame the economy for that one. If you have 15 semester hours of college that puts you in the same category as someone with a high school diploma.

To me, this is the most disturbing part of the article:

One of the main reason recruits don't qualify for the service is inadequate education. One in four between the ages of 17 and 24 does not have a high school diploma, according to the report. And many who do still fail the military's version of the SAT, known as the Armed Forces Qualification Test.

Of course, every cloud has a silver lining. At least we know the US military is not compromising its recruitment standards at a time when it really needs personnel.

Danm_999

That is indeed a disturbing trend that may compromise the quantity and possibly, the quality of US armed forces recruits in the foreseeable future.

I don't see what the problem is.

Former_Slacker

No one left to defend our freedoms.

Terrorists win.

Q.E.D.

I don't see what the problem is.

Former_Slacker

There are a limited number of perspectives in which this statement makes sense. What's yours?

My problem is I'm not that great of a runner (better then a WHOLE lot of the population, but still not that great) and I have glasses, although the glasses don't stop recruiters from hounding me day and night, so I guess I still can serve, just not on the front line. In fact, I plan to apply to the the Air Force Academy, hopefully I can pass all the health tests.

im one of those people:D

fit to join the military

▲ I have flat feet and I'm epileptic, so guess I got kinda lucky incase of a draft. ▲

[QUOTE="SamusFreak"]Fun fact, Air Force is the only branch you can't get in with a GED (unless they changed it recently)

ad1x2

Actually, no branch is accepting GEDs right now except in very, very limited situations. Blame the economy for that one. If you have 15 semester hours of college that puts you in the same category as someone with a high school diploma.

ah so they did, thanks for the info. I do know they are taking pretty much nobody that scores low, at least in the air force and navy. Due to the economy and that people that they want in the army and marines are going to the air force and navy, so they are trying to make it harder to get into those.

im a little overweight...but im qualified as of now to join...just gettin rid of the love handles first...

whats wrong with that. It could be higher if they really needed it to be. they could force fit some guys

If theres a very large war everyone will suddenly qualify.

In reality, entry standards are currently so high only because they can be so high. We don't currenty need bodies nearly as badly as we did for the first 3/4ths of this decade. If the economy picks back up and we fail to reduce task burden on SMs the standards will go back down.

thegerg

That may be true to an extent, but that doesn't mean if standards go down again we'll take just about anybody. I will admit that lowered standards reflected in the quality of some Soldiers I had around 2006. Back then you could get into the Army with a felony, and some people who had to get multiple waivers to join were either kicked out or court-martialed within their first year of service due to misconduct. Some things will not be waived, such as people with a conviction of selling/distributing drugs, people who currently have asthma, people who are extremely obese, people who are illegal immigrants, and people who are registered sex offenders.

[QUOTE="ad1x2"]

That may be true to an extent, but that doesn't mean if standards go down again we'll take just about anybody.

thegerg

Of course it doesn't. Did my post lead you to think I feel otherwise?

Guess I misunderstood you. You would be surprised how many people I run into that think the military is super desperate and would take anybody just to fill the ranks even today. They're usually the same people who think people in the military make less than people who work in McDonald's.

I wonder if asthma makes me unqualified....Guppy507

If you received any treatment for it past your 13th birthday you're unqualified to enlist. This is due to the fact that you may end up in an area where you might not have ready access to your medication. There are some people in the military with asthma but they developed it (or lied when they joined about having it) later in their career. They were evaluated to see if they could still serve and if they couldn't they were released. If they could still serve they would get treatment and possible limitations on their duties.

Although I'm to young to join, I think I could get in since I'll probably be one of the fastest runners in boot camp.

I could totally qualify, if I wasn't transgender. Oh well:roll: