Retired military leaders have asked the Pentagon to form a multiagency committee to help fight a number of social ills that prevent young people from being accepted into the services.
Nearly three-quarters of American youth do not qualify for service because they are too overweight, or have other roadblocks, the leaders wrote in a plea to acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller.
“As you know, 71 percent of young Americans between the ages of 17 and 24 are currently ineligible for military service, primarily because they are too poorly educated, too overweight, or have a history of crime or substance abuse,” the leaders wrote. The leaders belong to a group called Mission: Readiness, a nearly 800-member coalition of retired generals and admirals.
“These factors largely fall outside of the Department of Defense’s purview, but have an immense impact on the ability of the military to recruit new servicemembers as well as a significant monetary impact on the Department,” the leaders wrote.
Too many marshmallows.