Too Fat to Fight

The military once again uses their assets in the media to issue another national security warning.

No, this time it's not al-Qaeda or homegrown extremists. It's fat kids. And kids that are dumb and criminal.

At least 9 million Americans between the ages of 17 and 24 are too fat and unfit to serve in the military, says "Too Fat to Fight," a report being released today by Mission: Readiness, a group of retired military leaders. 

The new report follows findings from the senior military leaders group that 75 percent of adults in that age range are unqualified to serve in the armed forces because they lack the physical conditioning, don't have high school diplomas, or have criminal records. 

On Monday, one of the organization's members, retired Maj. Gen. Wesley E. Craig, said early childhood education {war propaganda} was important to national security. 

Speaking before several hundred educators and business leaders at a forum on early education in Harrisburg, Craig said, "Our national security in 2030 is heavily dependent on the boys and girls in preschool and kindergarten right now." 

"I'm here to say that if we don't take action soon, it's going to get harder to recruit qualified people to serve," said Craig, a former commander of the 28th Infantry Division of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. 

Being overweight or obese is the leading medical reason applicants fail to qualify for military service, "Too Fat to Fight" states.

"Every month, hundreds of otherwise excellent candidates for military service are turned away by recruiters because of weight problems," retired Army Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in the report. 

Since 1995, the proportion of recruits who failed their physical exams because they were overweight has risen by nearly 70 percent, the report says. {more}

Wars without end require planning and the kindergartner of today is the killer of tomorrow. How can a fat fighter chase the terrorists up and down the mountains of Afghanistan? Occupations of foreign lands is no place for the obese.

Now we all cringe every time we see a 200 lb. 12 year old chase down his Big Mac with a Mountain Dew. It's a sure sign that the corporate jingles have been successful. The health care costs of childhood obesity are bad enough and how do parents afford new upsized clothes every few months?

But I'm thinking that the military is overreacting. New technology can overcome the lack of slim bodies to kill civilians and women and children.

That's what drones are for .....