Army Opens its Doors to Recruits Who Fail to Meet Initial Body Fat and Academic Stand

[Peter1469]

For the fat-boys they will have a 90 day program prior to basic. Every three weeks they get evaluated to see if they qualify to go to real basic. Hopefully their chow halls don't have the fast food side- they only need the real food side. (I almost never ate from that side.)

The dumb ones go to a pre-basic smart building course and get reevaluated every 3 weeks.

Seems like a reasonable accommodation. They aren't really lowering standards for the Army; they are providing pre-basic remedial training with the hopes of finding more people worthy enough to become a Soldier.


Army Opens its Doors to Recruits Who Fail to Meet Initial Body Fat and Academic Standards Amid Recruiting Crisis

The Army is giving new recruits who exceed body fat standards or failed academic entrance standards a chance to serve as the service faces a daunting recruiting crisis.


In August, the service is set to launch two pilot programs at Fort Jackson, South Carolina: one for recruits who are slightly too overweight to serve and another for those who did not score high enough on the SAT-style exam required to enlist.

New enlistees who exceed body fat standards by as much as 6% will be placed into a training program for up to 90 days that includes exercise and dietary training. Every three weeks, the recruit may have their body fat measured and, if they can get to only 2% over the Army's limit, they will be allowed to move on to basic training.


A separate academic camp, also up to 90 days long, is for recruits who score between 21 and 30 on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or ASVAB. A 31 is needed to qualify for any job in the Army. Lower scores tend to place soldiers in combat arms or roles that are generally less technical. Higher scores typically qualify troops for roles such as administrative and intelligence jobs. Soldiers have the opportunity to retake the ASVAB every three weeks as part of the program. During the camp, soldiers will receive extra schooling on topics covered by the ASVAB, which include literacy, high school-level math and logic puzzles.

[OLD GUY IN FLORIDA]

Its absolutely discrimination to keep over weight or under educated people out of the military. After all, the enemy doesn't care if Freddy Finkledick is fat or Juwanda Smith can't spell her name or write in cursive.

[RMNIXON]

It's not just the lowering of physical standards that bothers me. Inevitably this will lead to lowered standards in competence and behavior.

[Standing Wolf]

Funny, as I was brushing my teeth last night I suddenly thought about the fact that in Navy boot camp everyone was given detailed instruction on how to brush one's teeth. The reason, of course, being that not everyone grows up in a home where that kind of thing is taught...and since the military is going to be doing all your dental work while you're serving, they have a vested interest in your knowing how to do it right.

[Standing Wolf]

It's not just the lowering of physical standards that bothers me. Inevitably this will lead to lowered standards in competence and behavior.

Recruits can be shown how to get and stay fit - that isn't lowering the standards, it's bringing people up to standards.

[Peter1469]

Originally Posted by RMNIXON
It's not just the lowering of physical standards that bothers me. Inevitably this will lead to lowered standards in competence and behavior.

Recruits can be shown how to get and stay fit - that isn't lowering the standards, it's bringing people up to standards.

Right. This is before basic training. If they can't meet the standards in 90 days they are back on the block.

[Ethereal]

Gee, it's almost as if discriminating against millions of "unvaccinated" Americans wasn't a good idea after all.

[Cletus]

Gee, it's almost as if discriminating against millions of "unvaccinated" Americans wasn't a good idea after all.

This has nothing to do with that. Those who refuse to obey a lawful order are not fit to serve.

[Ethereal]

This has nothing to do with that. Those who refuse to obey a lawful order are not fit to serve.

So excluding millions of Americans from the recruiting pool has nothing to do with the military struggling to recruit enough people?

[Ethereal]

Recruits can be shown how to get and stay fit - that isn't lowering the standards, it's bringing people up to standards.

So the military will take a chance on some pathetic fat body, but they refuse to consider "unvaccinated" Americans that are perfectly fit.

Liberal "logic" at its finest.