According to a report from the Department of Defense that was released earlier in March, the overwhelming majority of Americans ages 17-24 are not fit to serve in the military.
Alluding to a February 16 congressional hearing, the Defense Department report highlighted how 77% of Americans in the aforementioned age group don’t have the physical qualifications to enter the armed forces. This represents a 6% increase from 2017.
One of the factors that explains the alarming levels of young Americans being unfit to serve in the military is obesity. Tyler Durden of ZeroHedge noted that obesity reached roughly 42% in 2020.
Back in September 2022, a US Army General did not mince words when he said that young Americans have several characteristics that make them unable to serve in the military.
“Some of the challenges we have are obesity, we have pre-existing medical conditions, we have behavioral health problems, we have criminality, people with felonies, and we have drug use,” Lieutenant General Xavier Brunson told The Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Washington.
Brunson described it as a “condition,” saying that “this is not an Army problem, so nationally what we have to look at is what’s going on with our youth.”
The general’s statement came in response to the problems the US military has had in reaching its recruitment goals for recruits in 2022. All branches of the US military — the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Navy — have faced this recruitment problem. In light of this problem, some US policymakers have deemed obesity a threat to national security.
“Each year, more than $60 million goes toward replacing the 1,200-plus first-term enlistees discharged for excess weight,” Irina Tsukerman said to The Epoch Times.