US youngsters are too fat to fight, warn generals

[Whitesox]

Re: US youngsters are too fat to fight, warn generals

If everything was equal, I would understand.

However, the way the height / weight is handled in the military is a crock. During my 6 year stint I saw some amazing issues regarding this. Was a squad leader over an overweight soldier and had to give him monthly counseling, make him attend extra PT in the evenings and force him into the " fat boy " line in the chow hall.

There was not a vehicle in the motorpool we had that he couldnt fix. Hummers, Dueces, 5 tons, HEMTTs, Bradleys, Sheridans etc....you name it, he could fix it. Command made me start the chapter paperwork on him because of height / weight standards prior to our deployment to Iraq.

Our unit relied heavily on him back in the rear, but command didnt him to be a " liability" while we were deployed and thus he stayed back pending his chapter while we deployed.

Fast forward to our wonderful vacation in the desert and all of a sudden we had a huge influx of aircraft / vehicle issues due to overuse, sand, etc...

At one point we had over 8 vehicles all deadlined and unable to use because our " fat azz " soldier was no longer with us. My squad was comprised of soldiers that could all run fast as hell, but that sure didnt help us get combat ready.

In closing...fug the height / weight standards in the military. If you can perform, you can perfom.

Wow, that's horrible.

[Piderman]

Re: US youngsters are too fat to fight, warn generals

Im not too fat to fight, i am 8th prestige in COD so suck it.

[ruserl88]

Re: US youngsters are too fat to fight, warn generals

i can say this without worrying about being pc as i too carry more around my middle than i should but , so you're telling me blubber won't stop bullets ? anway , i should be able to say what i want about whatever i want & not have to worry about being pc because i'm not running for political office anways , but that's a topic for another thread , another day

[ruserl88]

Re: US youngsters are too fat to fight, warn generals

and while i'm off the pc bandwagon , i gotta little inspiration from seinfeld when kramer & newman had the rickashaw idea : u . s . youngsters should not be off fightin wars , we should recruit the homeless & tell them wherever they go to fight , whatever enemies they may dispatch , they can have their homes .

[Pokes]

Re: US youngsters are too fat to fight, warn generals

There should be more opportunity for kids to exercise. I think nutrition is only part of the issue. Physical education isn't a priority like it used to be.

I think this is the root of the problem. It seems in schools now all they ever want to do is take away soda and candy machines but never want to increase Physical Education/Activity standards.

[dickey1331]

Re: US youngsters are too fat to fight, warn generals

and while i'm off the pc bandwagon , i gotta little inspiration from seinfeld when kramer & newman had the rickashaw idea : u . s . youngsters should not be off fightin wars , we should recruit the homeless & tell them wherever they go to fight , whatever enemies they may dispatch , they can have their homes .

[deaduck]

Re: US youngsters are too fat to fight, warn generals

I think this is the root of the problem. It seems in schools now all they ever want to do is take away soda and candy machines but never want to increase Physical Education/Activity standards.

Not saying taking away P.E. was ever a good idea but the burden of that reasoning followed reports/studies about the failing standard of U.S. education systemn to teach just BASIC knowledge agianst other countries standards. Seemed a no brainer, at the time, to drop those costs and use that time for other subjects.

Isn't quite working out that way though.

[MC Fatigue]

Re: US youngsters are too fat to fight, warn generals

Can't they just recruit all their soldiers from NJ, Florida, and California? All I see when I go there are rubber skinned people showing off their pecks and biceps... There are plenty of fit people in those areas.

Not only are they fit - they tan so much that their skin is a natural body armor. Save some costs right there.

[superjames1992]

Re: US youngsters are too fat to fight, warn generals

Can't they just recruit all their soldiers from NJ, Florida, and California? All I see when I go there are rubber skinned people showing off their pecks and biceps... There are plenty of fit people in those areas.

Not only are they fit - they tan so much that their skin is a natural body armor. Save some costs right there.

Looks like they're aren't a lot of people from NJ or CA that serve.

I didn't realize Montana would be #1.

[Buckeyes_Doc]

Re: US youngsters are too fat to fight, warn generals

and while i'm off the pc bandwagon , i gotta little inspiration from seinfeld when kramer & newman had the rickashaw idea : u . s . youngsters should not be off fightin wars , we should recruit the homeless & tell them wherever they go to fight , whatever enemies they may dispatch , they can have their homes .

Why should we do that? Send homeless to fight for your freedom? Because they don't mean as much as you, right?

And I'm so sick of the height/weight standards in the Navy. When I was deployed another corpsman was about 20 pounds overweight but he was a great great combat corpsman. He saved lives and fought right me and the other corpsman and the marines. He got a lot of crap for being overweight also.

When we got back he got a crappy eval which mean he didn't get advanced to the next rate and he ended up getting out of the Navy because of it.

He was overweight but he could PT great and did his job well, but the Navy was more worried about his weight.

The military should not worry about weight, if you can do your job well that should be enough. I've seen plenty of very fit 6-pack having corpsman who could not do their job well, they just couldn't get medical down.

[stewaat]

Re: US youngsters are too fat to fight, warn generals

No way schools ever serve healthier food. They are cutting costs as it is, they can't sustain a spending increase anywhere.

[Cusefan]

Re: US youngsters are too fat to fight, warn generals

Why should we do that? Send homeless to fight for your freedom? Because they don't mean as much as you, right?

And I'm so sick of the height/weight standards in the Navy. When I was deployed another corpsman was about 20 pounds overweight but he was a great great combat corpsman. He saved lives and fought right me and the other corpsman and the marines. He got a lot of crap for being overweight also.

When we got back he got a crappy eval which mean he didn't get advanced to the next rate and he ended up getting out of the Navy because of it.

He was overweight but he could PT great and did his job well, but the Navy was more worried about his weight.

The military should not worry about weight, if you can do your job well that should be enough. I've seen plenty of very fit 6-pack having corpsman who could not do their job well, they just couldn't get medical down.

I never met the Height Weight Standards while i was in, But since I did better than Most on the PT test, that kept them off my back.

[bkfount]

Re: US youngsters are too fat to fight, warn generals

No way schools ever serve healthier food. They are cutting costs as it is, they can't sustain a spending increase anywhere.

Maybe they should just get some of that fat military budget. Schools shouldn't have to cut physical education and partner up with soda and junk food corporations to get by.

There's also the issue of the government subsidies that makes HFCS cheap and included in everything, making healthier food seem more expensive to the average consumers.

[bgeno]

Re: US youngsters are too fat to fight, warn generals

Alright, I've sent a few emails to Generals including to General Mills and Captain Crunch for good measure warning them that US youngsters are too fat to fight, just like the thread title says.

hahaha... oh, grammar-related jokes. They get me every time.

[Marino]

Re: US youngsters are too fat to fight, warn generals

No way schools ever serve healthier food. They are cutting costs as it is, they can't sustain a spending increase anywhere.

The school system here, in our city, needs to take money out of the corrupt school board, and give it back to schools. You take away important things like after school sports and other such activities, and no wonder most of the city of Charlotte is fat.