71% of young people are ineligible for the military and for most careers, too

[TexasTowelie]

Retired Rear Admiral Thomas Wilson worries about how many young people are ineligible for the military - because the numbers are staggering.

According to 2017 Pentagon data, 71 percent of young people are ineligible to join the military. The reasons: obesity, no high school diploma, or a criminal record.

“This is a very real risk to our national security,” said Steve Doster, Pennsylvania State director of Military Readiness for Council for a Strong America.

The problem isn't just a military one, though. It's an issue for businesses as well because the vast majority of that age group isn't eligible for many jobs either, said Wilson, a former Naval officer, now in Biglerville.

Read more: https://www.ydr.com/story/news/2019/05/14/military-service-most-young-people-dont-qualify-careers/1185816001/
(York Daily Record)

[sinkingfeeling]

1. That's okay because IQ45 wants millions to fight Iran. He'll take anybody as long as

they're not white and rich.

[WhiteTara]

23. Eric Prince is standing at the ready

to supply mercenaries.

[dameatball]

2. I wonder how many records are reflective of marijuana arrests. Must be some percent.

Having worked in two fairly large government operations, I do know that many vacancies in lower level positions are affected by this. One hospital I was involved with had an ongoing problem with non-direct patient care positions such as food services. If someone is going to be flipping burgers or washing dishes I never really understood how a marijuana issue on their record should make them unemployable.

[anarch]

3. I don't get it...if they just need cannon fodder, none of the factors mentioned would matter n/t

[marybourg]

5. Today's military is not so much cannon fodder as it used to be.

[anarch]

8. true, but that might change under this administration

hell, they even brought back those WWII era uniforms...next, the draft! Two million boots on the ground in the Middle East!

Meh, probably not...we have robots and missiles now anyway; they can just let all the fat stupid kids die from drugs and shoot each other at home, they don't really need them to catch bullets in some foreign land for the sake of the oil anymore...then again fuckface might order it done anyway, as part of his general program of causing as much harm as possible to the U.S.

[kimbutgar]

4. I think they should let the fat donnie supporters re enlist and fight that new war he's planning in

Iran. Men and women who support him regardless of age should go and fight for their cult leader.
All those militia guys down at the border, the kooks up in Washington, and Idaho who like to play with guns should sign up right away and go to the Middle East. Those young white males who were in Charlottesville would be great recruits. Please go fight for your white privilege representing the US.

[democratisphere]

6. Who will staff the 120,000 soldiers required for Bolton and

drumpf's upcoming "save drumpf's ass" diversionary war.
Also, the Military Industrial Complex called looking for hundreds of billions in new business paid for by smoke and mirrors emergency funds.

[Wellstone ruled]

14. National Guard.

[Bettie]

7. The linked article does not say how

71% of young people are not eligible for jobs.

The military? Well, fine, but saying that the majority of young people are unemployable doesn't seem accurate at all.

[GoCubsGo]

12. It listed the reasons in the second paragraph.

According to 2017 Pentagon data, 71 percent of young people are ineligible to join the military. The reasons: obesity, no high school diploma, or a criminal record.

[RKP5637]

15. And also speaks very poorly for the future of the US. n/t

[GoCubsGo]

24. I don't buy the 71% figure.

The latest figures say that the current high school graduation rate is about 84%. Many of the others go on to get a GED, which would make them eligible for the military, trade schools, and many colleges. According to the CDC, the obesity rate of high school kids is around 20%. The person making the is probably using the 41% arrest rate figure I'm seeing, but that includes traffic violations, which do not preclude someone from getting a job or joining the military. I suspect the vast majority of the arrests are actually for traffic violations. It seems to me this person is adding up the ineligibles from each group, and not considering that there is probably quite a bit of overlap among them. I'm thinking that around 25% are not eligible for military service. Still not good, but nowhere near as dire as he makes it out to be.

[RKP5637]

25. Thanks for the analysis!!!

[Bettie]

20. That specifies military rules

but the article goes on to day that the same percentage are not able to do jobs outside the miliatry.

For example, being fat isn't a disqualifying factor. Fat people manage to function just fine in many, many jobs.

There are jobs that can also be done quite well with a GED rather than a high school diploma. There are also jobs that don't generally require a high school education to do.

Also, I doubt that the majority of people of that age group are violent felons. There are plenty of jobs that someone with a possession or public intoxication conviction (which are likely the most common)

[GoCubsGo]

22. It said "MANY jobs."

A GED is considered equal to a high school diploma. The the article assumes they don't have even that. The vast majority of jobs require at least a GED/high school diploma, including most retail jobs. The military will take recruits with a GED, as will trade schools and many colleges. And, the article was not just about having a job, per se. It was about having a career-type job, and those require at least a GED/high school diploma, if not college or a tech school diploma. Even many manufacturing jobs require an education beyond high school/GED these days. There are only so many fast food, shelf stocker, construction and other manual labor jobs to go around. Those are not the sorts of jobs most people want to do all their lives.

Obesity puts a lot of jobs off limits, especially if one doesn't have a college degree. You'll notice that you don't see many obese fire fighters, policemen, and construction workers. And, jobs that require one to be on one's feet all day, such as retail, are very difficult for people who are extremely overweight. As for criminal records, just about every job application asks if one has any sort of criminal record beyond traffic tickets. If one answers "yes", one is probably shit-out-of-luck, even if their crime was petty. A lot of employers don't want to take the risk, even for something like public intoxication.

BTW, I don't really buy that 71% figure. See my reply to RPK5637.

[samir.g]

9. sorry, you can't kill brown kids for oil with that weed ticket on your record

brilliant

[Runningdawg]

11. Sure you can - join a militia and go hunting in the Sonoran desert. Donnie will give you an award!

[trev]

10. When Trump starts his war

the military will do exactly what it did during the last Republican wars: Remove its restrictions.

[RKP5637]

16. tRump's supposed to be a pillar of health per his dr. Send him in first, yep!!! n/t

[gratuitous]

13. How did that happen?

I wonder if re-prioritizing our nation's spending might have an effect on this? Seems like every extra dollar in the Treasury is handed out to wealthy people or spent on "defense" including the not-over-budget-hardly-at-all F-35. Maybe if we spent a little less on tax cuts and the military and a little more on schools, childhood nutrition, infrastructure and a shit-ton of other things, we'd have healthier children without criminal records by the time they turn 21? It will take a herculean effort, though, because so many influential and wealthy forces are heavily invested in things as they are now.

[Beausoleil]

17. Gonna need a bigger Group W bench

[Kaleva]

18. War makes most everyone eligible.

[tazkcmo]

28. Yup. n/t

[Kaleva]

29. My Dad knew a guy who was drafted in WWII and was missing his trigger finger

He had lost in an accident working in the woods. The man spent the war as a guard in a POW camp here in Upper Michigan just a few miles away from his home.

[malaise]

19. Well that's one way to give peace

a chance

[Opel_Justwax]

21. They have grown too picky for recruits.

When I went in the Army during the 80's I weighed 220 and could do ten push ups. By the end of basic training I weighed 170 and could do 70 push ups. I knew plenty of young people that had criminal records that were great soldiers.

[tazkcmo]

27. I was recalled to active duty for Oil War One aka Desert Storm

Several of my fellow soldiers were recalled right out jail. Qualifications are like weather. They both change.

[tazkcmo]

26. Oh poo.

The military will just change the standards in order to make the unqualified qualified. They do it all the time.

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/army-raises-maximum-enlistment-age-to-42-3344772

If all else fails, there's always the draft.

[Hoyt]

30. The biggest problem is very few smart people want to kill innocent Muslims because

some fool(s) orders them too.

I’m glad to see kids aren’t lining up to fight in trumped up wars. That is encouraging.

[LiberalFighter]

31. I don't remember if it was WW I or II that they lowered requirements.

I think it was for education and WW II.

[NutmegYankee]

32. I don't see how obesity impacts most careers.

Police, military, fire, etc. Sure. But just about any other career can be worked. Even those where people are on their feet much of the day are workable.