Michael Fumento, writing at Forbes, explains why Americans are Not Fit For Combat
Low education and high-fat diets are keeping Americans out of the military.
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About three-fourths of the nation’s 17- to 24-year-olds can’t join the military, largely due to these problems, says a report from Mission: Readiness, a Washington-based nonprofit organization. It’s one reason President Obama is dithering over whether he should order an additional 40,000 troops to Afghanistan. Today we have just 1.4 million people in the active military, whereas in 1944 we had over 2 million serving in France alone, out of a U.S. population less than half its current size.
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Moreover, because today’s graduation standards have been greatly lowered, about 30% of diploma-sporting applicants who take the Armed Forces Qualification Test will fail, yanking them out of the running.
Bad schools affect the economy, jobs, and national security.
I noticed that one of the Obama campaign promises to increase the size of the military by at least one division seems to have faded away like hieroglyphics on a cartouche.
So we all agree that we should give more resources to schools so that they can turn out more competent citizens. Am I right?
Caramida,
Start with the things that don’t cost, like discipline and achievement standards. It’s amazing what you can do with a textbook, a blackboard, and some chalk. Forget self-esteem and social justice.
And be aware that in some cases the kids are not less than before but the standards for the military have continued to rise. Before the was my dad enlisted as a junior in college. He was pretty stunned at the intellect of both the enlisted and the officer corps. Too stupid to be given matches he claimed. But once conscription started then the level of intellect and ability rose greatly. Many of the type of guys in the pre-war military if trying to enlist today wouldn’t even be considered.
We spend more per capita on education than practically any country in the world so spending more is obviously not the answer. Especially as the schools don’t see themelves as the creators of competent citizens any more but rather neutral and lofty Shangri La’s above the mundane and post modern realities of a codependent world.
Where I live there is very little correlation between district student achievement scores and expenditures per student. This always triggers a call to stop publishing the scores of the districts. Looks like Caramida’s post is a fail.