Health/Medical
See other Health/Medical Articles
Title: Too Fat to Serve: US Army Gives Tons of Overweight Soldiers the Boot
Source:
Infowars / RT
URL Source: http://www.infowars.com/too-fat-to- ... -overweight-soldiers-the-boot/
Published: Dec 11, 2012
Author: RT.com
Post Date: 2012-12-11 17:45:37 by Hondo68
Keywords: None
Views: 3863
Comments: 4
Fifteen times more troops were discharged from the US Army this year due to obesity than five years prior. With scores of recruits unfit to serve due to the extra pounds, the country’s top brass have deemed it a national security concern. Over the last 15 years, the figures of obese people actively serving more than tripled. Armed Forces Health reported that in 2010, 86,186 servicemen (5.3 per cent of the military) had at least one obesity-related diagnosis. In 2010, the highest percentage of overweight troops were women older than 40 serving in the Air Force. Marines and troops in other branches under 20 were deemed the most fit. The alarming trend caused the top brass to review the soldiers’ training programs, prompting them to push commanders to discharge all those unfit to serve. “A healthy and fit force is essential to national security. Our service members must be physically prepared to deploy on a moment’s notice anywhere on the globe to extremely austere and demanding conditions,” Commander Leslie Hull-Ryde, a Pentagon spokeswoman, told the daily. Soldiers themselves have in fact argued that the fitness test they have to undergo is too strenuous, with strong, fit servicemen being unfairly excluded. Although younger generations are said to live more sedentary lives while enjoying larger mealtime portions, some servicemen have taken to the Internet to counter that they became overweight due to injuries, not sloth. Blogs and forums are filling up with soldiers and their relatives who have criticized the new policy, claiming the troops are being treated as expendable items. “My son fought for this country and has a wife and 3 young children, the youngest a month old and they are now homeless,” wrote one soldier’s mother, whose son got a knee injury while serving in Iraq and was later kicked out of the military. Another user says that his wife was hurt, gained weight because of a lack of exercise and time to visit the gym, and was eventually dismissed from the forces. “It truly is a sad state, when there are people begging to get out of the Army, and they want to throw out someone who truly wants to serve,” he pointed out. Obesity has also become the main cause of ineligibility for recruitment in the US, leading the Pentagon to worry about the impact the trend will have on its fighting forces. Retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling said in a 2009 speech that 75 percent of civilians who wanted to join the force were ineligible due to being overweight. “Of the 25 percent that could join, what we found was 65 percent could not pass the [physical training] test on the first day. Young people joining our service could not run, jump, tumble or roll – the kind of things you would expect soldiers to do if you’re in combat,” he pointed out. It comes two years after former General David Petraeus lifted the ban on fast food restaurants, such as Taco Bell, Burger King, and Pizza Hut, on military bases in Afghanistan, saying that the eateries “enforce military readiness.” In February 2010, his predecessor General Stanley McChrystal banned 57 fast-food restaurants located on Afghan military bases. During the peak of US military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan this past decade, the Army allowed recruits to sign up who in previous times would have been considered ineligible, including obese people or those with criminal records. Following a recent order to reduce the active-duty force from 570,000 to 490,000 by 2017, Army commanders have now been tasked with weeding out substandard troops.
Poster Comment: They're just getting rid of the fat-slob/pill-popper, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Moore types. 
(RT.com / AFP Photo / David Furst)
The American Army is discharging servicemen in an attempt to cut its budget, and the first to be given their walking papers are those who have failed fitness tests because of obesity. During the last 10 months alone, 1,625 troops were dismissed from the US army due to being overweight, the Washington Post reported. 
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: hondo68 (#0)
What this tells me is the US involvement in the Muddle East really is winding down. The bean counters will ALWAYS have their way,and they don't give a damn who gets hurt. They could do this by attrition without hurting anyone. Just a few years ago they were refusing to let people out,not they are putting out people that still want to stay in,many of them injured in the line of duty. Somebody needs to tell these pukes that loyalty is a 2-way street. ESPECIALLY since a lot of those injured weren't even sent back to the US to serve,but were just given office jobs at bases in Afghanistan and still eating MRE's on occasion. ANYBODY over 30 that eats MRE's on a daily basis that isn't a serious athlete is going to end up bigger than a blimp. Those things were designed to keep healthy 18 year old infantrymen who run around carrying their own body weight fueled up with calories,and people over 30 with sedate work circumstances is just going to blow up because their metabolism just can't keep up with all those calories. The injured active duty people on profile are the low-hanging fruit here,and will be the first to go. The beancounters will want to get rid of them before they qualify for medical retirement. After that the pressure will be put on the recruiters and basic training cadre to cull the herd of enlistees. Probably the NG and Reserve people will be the last to go. They are a cheap source of emergency manpower.
Why is democracy held in such high esteem when it’s the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012)
Wholly Cows.....have you seen how fit the US Policeman are,FEMA minions,...other agencies which get 3 letter tags,vest and guns? Lucky cop....the tree is fat'r than he is....that brave cop.
Back in the 90's when they were downsizing they were putting out guys you wanted to keep and letting those stay that you really didn't want or trust... The units had no say whatsoever in who stayed or went, we lost a lot of good guys back then... The slugs eventually got weeded out with large amounts of paperwork but it would have been much easier if they had been culled earlier, and saved money!!!
“We have four boxes with which to defend our freedom: the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box, and the ammunition box.”
Yeah,but then the administrators would have been cheated of their power to administrate. They don't get to flex those desk muscles very often,and we wouldn't want to rob them of the chance,would we?
Why is democracy held in such high esteem when it’s the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012)
#2. To: hondo68 (#0)
Too Fat to Serve:
#3. To: sneakypete (#1)
They could do this by attrition without hurting anyone.
#4. To: CZ82 (#3)
The slugs eventually got weeded out with large amounts of paperwork but it would have been much easier if they had been culled earlier, and saved money!!!
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]