Why 75% of young Americans unable to serve in the military

I commented on another post that we as Americans have utterly forgotten our history in the process of systematically removing most curricula from our basic education systems.

We originated as the United Kingdom's Land of Misfit Toys.

#13 made me laugh out loud. Ha!

The entitlement attitude has made our youth soft! Most regard service as self-service!

FN Mike McCormack - When I enlisted in '83, I was a high school dropout. I did really well on the ASVAB and was allowed to enter with a waiver. That waiver required me to get my G.E.D. or equivalency within one year after reaching my first duty assignment.
When I reached the 8th M.P. Co, my commander wouldn't even place me into a platoon until I went to the Education Center and got scheduled for the necessary classes to pass the test. I took the test that same day and passed with a High School Equivalency from my high school in Albuquerque, NM. I was one of the fortunate ones.
I think the Army tightening requirements like they think they are the Air Force or Navy is a big mistake. They should bring back the waiver that I received. There are a lot of very smart people who drop out because they are bored in high school. The curricula are too easy for them, and they feel they are wasting their time. They want to get on with their lives. Just change the order of things. If they do well on the ASVAB, let them have access to the G.E.D. systems before they enter the military. If they pass the pre-test with a set score, then let them enlist with the waiver I got in with or something similar.
They're cutting out a large group of intelligent people who are at an age where discipline isn't their strong suit. Put them in basic training where they can be taught discipline and where they will come out the other side with discipline and many other good living and job skills! When done right, the D.O.D. won't lose a dime. Instead, they will be gaining a pool of highly qualified future Soldiers.

I agree

what disappointed me so much, during QEF/OIF was that , even though I was told by SEVERAL recruiters, along w/ MEPS, that I was a desirable candidate for service, I was told by the Dept of the Air Force that I could not reenlist because they would not upgrade my RE code from 4 to 3, even though the reasons for the code were proven to be incorrect (long story).

So, not only are few eligible to join, but those that are prior service & can pass all batteries of tests to get back in, are turned down.

Frustrating as all hell...

When I was a kid growing up, my Mom's favorite saying was , "Get outside", so my brother and I was always outside playing. I grew up in the country, so during the summer to play baseball, we rode our bikes to town. During summers in high school I worked physical jobs. That's the way most of my friends grew up as well.

Too much electronic games today and too many not getting out.

SGM Mikel Dawson - Sadly, parents no longer allow their children the free rein we enjoyed. How many parents even allow their kids to go trick-or-treating without a parental escort? As a grade school kid, my mom packed me a peanut butter sandwich and a thermos of milk, and my friends and I rode bikes all day together. But today's parents have been convinced that danger lurks around every corner, and that they're "neglectful parents" if they don't "bubble wrap" their kid to protect him or her from any conceivable harm. They don't allow the kids to struggle or stand on their own two feet, and then are mystified when their child is still living in their basement at age 27. And don't even get me started on "home schoolers." I taught community college for 20 years, and actually had a parent ask me to make sure his daughter (age 18!) didn't talk to any boys when she was on break! I explained that "chaperone" wasn't in my job description, and that I wasn't allowed to discuss anything about an adult student with his or her parent. Can you believe it?

my children do not do drugs, prescription or otherwise. they do not light themselves on fire or choke themselves or anyone else. Nor do they think military life is like call of duty. my 28 yr old is a marine of 7 yrs standing with a beautiful wife and daughter.

I don't think he said everyone of this generation does this. If he did, I missed it somewhere in the text LOL.

I making an observation on this generation, not your children in specific. Good job on making sure your children are raised right.

As a 49 year old SGT promotable who is looking at potentially being rcp ed. I am asking myself that since the military decided to make it very hard to make Ssg, who is going to take my place? I used to think the Army would be fine raising the standards for staying in, but I am noticing a trend of a lot of quality NCO s being let go. Who replaces the quality leaders? I notice is there is no replacement and it is going to hurt our young servicemenbers in the long run. Now about the young service members who are the future of our military, why would they try to stay in if they are not being mentored properly. We spread have a hard enough time getting young men and women to take our place, now even when we do get them in the military they do not stay. We have a lot of issues here.