WASHINGTON, Nov 4, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- More than one-third of Americans
ages 17-24 are unqualified for military service because of physical and medical
issues, U.S. military officials said.
Curt Gilroy, the Pentagon's director of accessions, said the United States has
"an obesity crisis."
"There's no question about it," Gilroy told the Navy Times. "Kids are just not
able to do push-ups, and they can't do pull-ups. And they can't run."
The Pentagon figures -- 35 percent of the roughly 31.2 million Americans ages
17-24 are ineligible for military service -- are drawn from data from the
Centers for Disease Control. In a study scheduled to be released Thursday in
Washington, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and a group of retired
military officers say young Americans' lack of overall fitness for military duty
is a national security threat, the Navy Times reported.
The report, drawing on Pentagon data, says 75 percent of the nation's 17- to
24-year-olds are ineligible for service for a variety of reasons, including:
-- 35 percent ineligible for medical/physical problems.
-- 18 percent ineligible for illegal drug use.
-- 9 percent ineligible for mental problems.
-- 18 percent have too many dependents.
-- 5 percent have a criminal record.
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Copyright 2009 by United Press International