London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Military leaders worry America’s youth are still too fat or dumb to fight

Military leaders worry America's youth are still too fat or dumb to fight

U.S. military leaders are increasingly worried that young Americans are too overweight or undereducated to join the armed forces
Young Americans are increasingly too overweight or undereducated to join the U.S. military, according to a growing number of both retired and active-duty military leaders.

In a Dec. 17 letter to Acting Secretary of Defense Christoper Miller, Mission: Readiness — a nonpartisan organization of nearly 800 retired admirals and generals — warned that 71 percent of young Americans between the ages of 17 and 24 are ineligible for military service “because they are too poorly educated, too overweight, or have a history of crime or substance abuse.”

While Mission: Readiness has sought to hammer this point home to active-duty military leaders in recent years, this letter to Miller is different. In it, the group urged the acting defense secretary to stand up an advisory committee on military recruitment to “create a long-term strategy to address the biggest disqualifiers for military service.”

The proposed committee, which matches a recommendation to the Pentagon from lawmakers in the fiscal year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, would work with the departments of Agriculture, Education, Health and Human Services, and Justice to address underlying factors like obesity, lack of education, and criminality and their impact on recruitment.

Those factors “largely fall outside of the Department of Defense’s purview, but have an immense impact on the ability of the military to recruit new service members as well as a significant monetary impact on the Department,” wrote former Air Force Gen. William M. Fraser and former Coast Guard Adm. James M. Loy in Mission: Readiness’s letter to Miller.

“Without coordinated action, these trends pose a significant threat to the future of the all-volunteer force.”

Mission: Readiness isn’t the only group of military leaders seriously concerned with the state of U.S. military recruitment: Maj. Gen. Frank Muth, head of Army Recruiting Command, warned in 2018 that obesity was the largest reason for the service to disqualify future soldiers.

More recently, Military.com reported that both Navy and Marine Corps officials responsible for recruiting have expressed concern over the factors underlined in the group’s letter to Miller.

“It is something that, as a nation, we should continue to work though … to make sure our children are healthier,” Navy Recruiting Command chief Rear Adm. Dennis Velez told Military.com in a recent interview.

Indeed, Marine Corps Recruiting Service chief Maj. Gen. Jason Bohm went as far as to warn that far fewer than 30 percent of eligible young Americans are suited to join the service.

“If you break it down further into those skill sets, intelligence level, and the physical ability level, those that we’re looking toward bringing into the Marine Corps … quickly decreases to about 7 percent,” Bohm told Military.com. “That’s enormously challenging.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×