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.