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SFC Marcus Belt
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There is some irreducible minimum below which, the US Military, writ-large, is NOT an effective fighting force, that is, it is not capable of executing our foreign policy objectives. This is a cold, agnostic truth. A platoon cannot defeat a division, no matter how fit, well equipped, well trained and motivated that platoon is, especially when that platoon is deployed to the ends of the earth.

The US faces critical and systemic failures in its ability to educate and prepare young people to defend it. The lowered standards are a problem, certainly, but THE problem is that our military age citizens are too fat, too uneducated or too fond of marijuana to serve.

The easy thing to do is to blame so-called "Millennials" and their presumed lack of redeeming virtues. This is a mistake. In the Army, if EVERYONE is wrong, then it's the leader who is wrong....I am not blaming the POTUS for this one, because it's taken far more than 8 years for us, as a nation, to come to this...but we must figure out a way to address this, or it will only get worse in the future.
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LTC Marc King
LTC Marc King
8 y
SFC Belt ... you are spot on. So perhaps we need to increase the pool from which we draw... say draft all military age men & woman, sort them out at the induction station, again after basic, and again after AIT keep the one that are fit to serve and return the rest to their own fate... it's worth of discussion.
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SFC Marcus Belt
SFC Marcus Belt
8 y
LTC Marc King - It's a valid option sir, and frankly, I believe that the situation is so dire, that any reasonable option should be explored. My background as a Gunner's Mate tells me that when troubleshooting a problem, we should attempt to get as high up into the cascading faults as we can, and in this case, to extend the metaphor, I believe that, as a first, most cost-effective step, we need to address the nation's shortfalls in education. Throwing money at the issue seems not to have worked, for the most part.

Improving the quality of our educational system seems like a good "bang-for-the-buck" step towards improving the situation.
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LTC Marc King
LTC Marc King
8 y
Once again -- spot on and well thought out! "Bravo Zulu"
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SFC George Smith
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that not a wise Idea...
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SPC Margaret Higgins
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LTC Marc King:
In this Soldier's humble opinion: I believe that the military's decision, to relax its standards for fitness and for the use of marijuana- could not be a worse decision.
America, I believe, needs a military that will fight hard; and win wars.
I believe as well, Sir, that this decision by our nation's military, would jeopardize our Soldiers' safety and health.
Thanks for bringing this matter to our attention, Lieutenant Colonel.
-Margaret C Higgins US Army (Ret)
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LTC Marc King
LTC Marc King
8 y
Margaret I could not agree with you more... It is a slippery slope we are on and if we do not reverse course soon we will be doomed. Thanks for your comments.
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