The Military (Behavior Modification)

2014.06.27 - WSJ - Recruits' Ineligibility Tests the Military
http://www.wsj.com/articles/recruits-in ... 1403909945

Quote:

More than two-thirds of America's youth would fail to qualify for military service because of physical, behavioral or educational shortcomings, posing challenges to building the next generation of soldiers even as the U.S. draws down troops from conflict zones.

The military deems many youngsters ineligible due to obesity, lack of a high-school diploma, felony convictions and prescription-drug use for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The military services don't keep figures on how many people they turn away. But the Defense Department estimates 71% of the roughly 34 million 17- to 24-year-olds in the U.S. would fail to qualify to enlist in the military if they tried, a figure that doesn't even include those turned away for tattoos or other cosmetic issues. Meanwhile, only about 1% of youths are both "eligible and inclined to have a conversation with us" about military service, according to Major Gen. Allen Batschelet, commanding general of U.S. Army Recruiting Command.

Each year, about 180,000 young men and women successfully volunteer for America's active-duty forces. An additional 110,000 join the services' reserve and National Guard units. Individual services manage their own recruiting and have the authority to grant waivers to applicants who don't meet broad standards.
[...]
From 2000 to 2008, the Defense budget for enlistment bonuses more than doubled to $625 million, and it jumped more than 50% to $1.4 billion for selective re-enlistment bonuses, according to a Rand Corp. analysis.
[...]
In the past, he said, "a drill sergeant could literally run the weight off a soldier as part of the regular training program," but now, "we have young people showing up at the recruiter's office who want to serve but are 50 or more pounds overweight."

About a quarter of high-school graduates also can't pass the Armed Forces Qualification Test, which measures math and reading skills, Gen. Youngman said. "They aren't educationally qualified to join the military in any capacity, not just the high-tech jobs," he said.

Sgt. Sawyer's El Monte, Calif., recruiting center serves towns with a total population of 325,000 people. It enlists 10 to 15 people a month. "A lot of times, we don't even get to the interview stage," said the sergeant on a recent afternoon as some would-be soldiers dropped in.
[...]
David Monzon, a 23-year-old East Los Angeles man, said he had long wanted to join the Army but wasn't able to enlist after graduating; at 5 feet 6 inches tall, he weighed 300 pounds.

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Comments section:
I am a military veteran, I have served in Iraq (both times) and Afghanistan, I retired from the USAF in 2006 after 21 years.

When the military tells you that they look at the whole person that is a lie, they do not, things that will automatically disqualify you.

1. Being arrested for Marijuana, even if you were later found innocent
2. having more than 4 driving violations (EVER)
3. having ever been charged with a crime that they consider moral turpitude. and this is a vague as it gets.

Even while you are in, there is no guarantee that they will let you stay, example of this was in 2007 when I watched the Air Force discharge my Supervisor, a SGT from service for being overweight, (he was a body builder, not an ounce of fat on him, but at 6'0" his weight was more than they allowed, even though it was pure muscle.

when I joined the military there were young men and women there that had been sent to the recruiter by judges, taken to the recruiter by the police etc. as a way to turn their life around. this is no longer the case, the military feels that they have the ability to pick and be very choosy, the funny thing that I found in my 21 years in the military was that often the straighter laced the person the less effective the military member, I personally saw more of these types of people make long productive careers out of the military, one thing that I have always stated is that the military will either bring out the best in a person or the worst. many time the person that is being given the second chance will take that opportunity and run with it. 

So i think that it would do the military well if they went back a little to their roots, and understand that not everyone is perfect, and in the time of war, nobody is going to care anyway. 

- What's the cost to the military for each recruited soldier?