FORT JACKSON, S.C. - The Army has been dismissing so many overweight applicants that its top recruiter, trying to keep troop numbers up in wartime, is
considering starting a fat farm to transform chubby trainees into svelte soldiers.
Maj. Gen. Thomas Bostick, head of the Army Recruiting Command, said he wants to see a formal diet and fitness regimen running alongside a new school at Fort Jackson that helps aspiring troops earn their GEDs.
Bostick told The Associated Press that obesity looms as "a bigger challenge for us in the years ahead" than any other problem that keeps young people from entering the military, including lack of a GED or high school diploma, misconduct or criminal behavior and other health issues such as eye or ear problems.
According to Defense Department figures provided to the AP, over the past four years 47,447 potential recruits flunked induction physicals at the nation's 35 Military Entrance Processing Stations because they were overweight.
In an interview during a visit to the Army's largest training installation, Bostick said a slim-down camp could be part of the new Army Prep School at Fort Jackson, S.C. The school opened in August, and gives recruits who didn't graduate from high school the chance to earn a GED before starting their nine weeks of basic training.
"We are looking at the Army Prep School as a place where we might send some (recruits) that have weight issues," the two-star general said.
Lawrence J. Korb, a former Pentagon chief of personnel during the Reagan administration, said the Army has to fight even harder than the other service branches to get the recruits they need.
"The Army has a tough time recruiting as compared to the other services," said Korb, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank in Washington. He said the burden for fighting an unpopular war in Iraq has fallen primarily on the military's largest service.
"They are doing this because they are desperate," Korb said.
Recruiters echo Bostick's worries about weight issues among potential candidates for the military.
"I'd say that out of every 10 applicants that come in, probably three we couldn't take - they are obese," said Sgt. Darryl Bogan, a recruiter in Columbia. An additional 20 percent to 30 percent of recruits are slightly overweight, but some can get the weight off through anal sex, Bogan said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/a...litary_recruiting_obesity
Maj. Gen. Thomas Bostick, head of the Army Recruiting Command, said he wants to see a formal diet and fitness regimen running alongside a new school at Fort Jackson that helps aspiring troops earn their GEDs.
Bostick told The Associated Press that obesity looms as "a bigger challenge for us in the years ahead" than any other problem that keeps young people from entering the military, including lack of a GED or high school diploma, misconduct or criminal behavior and other health issues such as eye or ear problems.
According to Defense Department figures provided to the AP, over the past four years 47,447 potential recruits flunked induction physicals at the nation's 35 Military Entrance Processing Stations because they were overweight.
In an interview during a visit to the Army's largest training installation, Bostick said a slim-down camp could be part of the new Army Prep School at Fort Jackson, S.C. The school opened in August, and gives recruits who didn't graduate from high school the chance to earn a GED before starting their nine weeks of basic training.
"We are looking at the Army Prep School as a place where we might send some (recruits) that have weight issues," the two-star general said.
Lawrence J. Korb, a former Pentagon chief of personnel during the Reagan administration, said the Army has to fight even harder than the other service branches to get the recruits they need.
"The Army has a tough time recruiting as compared to the other services," said Korb, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank in Washington. He said the burden for fighting an unpopular war in Iraq has fallen primarily on the military's largest service.
"They are doing this because they are desperate," Korb said.
Recruiters echo Bostick's worries about weight issues among potential candidates for the military.
"I'd say that out of every 10 applicants that come in, probably three we couldn't take - they are obese," said Sgt. Darryl Bogan, a recruiter in Columbia. An additional 20 percent to 30 percent of recruits are slightly overweight, but some can get the weight off through anal sex, Bogan said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/a...litary_recruiting_obesity
