'Fat' soldiers as US Army relaxes weight limits to increase recruitment

[sabra]

Source: UK Telegraph

Fighting a combination of growing obesity and rising recruitment needs, the US Army is relaxing its weight limits to attract bigger Americans.

A new waiver scheme allows recruits who would previously been rejected as overweight to join up first and shape up later.

The oversized must first pass a series of physical tests including a set number of push-ups and a stepping exercise.

They then have a year to meet the army's physical requirements, notably its body-mass index (BMI), which estimates body fat based on weight and height.

According to the Army Recruiting Command, the programme is so far proving effective, with attrition rates on the waiver scheme no higher than among ordinary recruits

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/4142101/Fat-soldiers-as-US-Army-relaxes-weight-limits-to-increase-recruitment.html

[soleft]

1. Calling Vincent Dinofrio.........

[Soylent Brice]

4. you beat me to it!!!

Private Pyle!!!!!

lol


well, they let the fucking felons in. it only seems fair, i suppose.

[Nihil]

18. And again!

> well, they let the fucking felons in. it only seems fair, i suppose.

Makes me think that they're scraping the bottom of the felon barrel if
they're having to let in the fat "gangstas" too!
:rofl:

[JNelson6563]

2. Not long ago I remember walking through a parking lot

noticing the hugely overweight people all around me, mouth breathing, barely able to walk, glazed eyes and I thought, if we were ever invaded we are so fucked.

Perhaps this new policy will help get more people healthy...? I hope they don't get nice and healthy only to get killed in war.

Julie

[Soylent Brice]

5. a good friend of mine swears we'll be invaded by the Chinese.

it's not rethuglican fearmongering or anything of the sort. he's just really crazy, and doesn't care if ithappens. he's smart as hell, and has analyzed it at length. his prediction is that China will invade by 2020 or something like that.

in theory he is right in one aspect, we wouldn't be able to prevent it at the rate we're going.

[JNelson6563]

7. I (somewhat jokingly) say similar in DU stock thread.

Of course in the stock thread our national debt is often mentioned. I have been long on gold for years and I tell the Marketeers that it's wise to invest in precious metals and gems so that you can either a.) sew them into your clothes and flee the country when we are invaded or b.) use the stuff to bribe our new Chinese overlords with.

Julie--kinda, sorta kidding

[Soylent Brice]

9. "b.) use the stuff to bribe our new Chinese overlords with."

is that you Chris?

seriously though. i could post a dozen emails from him on here and you would think you were reading your own thoughts.

i should talk him into joining DU and you two can start up the Chinese Invasion Survivalist/Welcoming Committee Group.

lol

[tom_paine]

14. "I for one, welcome our new Chinese Overlords."

--Kent Brockman, on "The Simpsons"



Seriously, is there anyone who doubts that all the Bushie Fake Tough Guys, from Michael Savage to Sean Hannity and every shit-dribbling asshole from here to Houston would LINE UP to serve the Chinese.

They THINK they'll be like "Red Dawn", but they'll line up to suck Chinese dong if it ever REALLY happened. But the Bushie Followers will just be doing what they always do, unthinkingly emulating the Hannitys and Savage Weiners of the world.

They will make FINE servants of the Chinese, and will convince themselves that, in aiding the Chinese they are destroying the liberals, and it's true.

Chinese Commies and Bushies both HATE liberals, as all authoritarians do. So the Bushies will HAPPILY help their Chinese Masters hunt down the Liberal Terrorists trying to resist the legitimate authority that both Sean Hannity and Michael Savage are on TV every day telling their Bushie Followers how great and freedom-loving the ChiComs really are!

[Soylent Brice]

28. !!

:spray:

"They THINK they'll be like "Red Dawn", but they'll line up to suck Chinese dong if it ever REALLY happened"

i just drew a lot of attention to myself in the office.

your assessment of neocons post chinese invasion is about as accurate as it gets.

[JNelson6563]

19. haha

I do think/say such things more jokingly than before with our new leadership coming in soon. :toast:

Well see, I'm still long on the easily transportable wealth for now. ;) Tell Chris I said "hi"! :hi:

Julie

[Soylent Brice]

27. will do!

:hi:

[illuminaughty]

24. Hey, not so far fetched.

about the Chinese. And, damn, the most stupid thing I never did was buy metals. Had a friend begging me to buy when gold was at $200...didn't do it.

Did have enough foresight to cash out Mom's USB stock before the whole plummeting thing with plans to buy the metals then and, unfortunately, we had to use the money to keep living. Crap. Oh well, at some point I still plan to invest because I know they're keeping gold artificially low at this point.

Glad you were smart.

[CRF450]

22. They're already half way their, in the form of consumer products. nt

[flvegan]

3. Dammit, my BMI of 34.9 says I'm far too obese for service.

Darn.

[Demobrat]

6. Once they're in and get a load of

Halliburton's happy meals they'll slim down, no problem. This could be the answer to the country's obesity problem AND declining enlistments. I think it calls for a huge ad campaign. "Sign up. Slim down. Six weeks to a new you!"

[KamaAina]

11. "Sign up. Slim down. Six weeks to a new you!"

"Someday soon, six feet under!"

[geardaddy]

15. DUzy!

:rofl:

[illuminaughty]

25. Ah yes. The SS plan n/t

[ddss75]

8. cool

when i went through boot camp there was a special group of recruits that they called the pork chap squad. basically they got half the meals and twice the pt until they were able to make weight, but the thing is they would not graduate boot camp until they made weight. One guy was about 300lbs when he got there, and it took him about 5 months to meet the standard. i am happy for the recruits that they are able to get in shape, and serve their country. hell they can be like john candy in stripes.

[snooper2]

10. I love how the ads always match the thread perfectly...

Now, not only can the lady on the right shoot a M16, The lady on the left will be driving !

[AndyTiedye]

12. BMI is Not a Good Measure Anyway

BMI makes no distinction between fat and muscle.
Most bodybuilders would fail such an "obesity" test.

[ACTION BASTARD]

13. We had a "Pork Chop Platoon" in the beginning of Marine Corps boot camp.

These were the "fatties" that were dropping out during the first series of runs or the DI's believed needed extra motivation. The guys that went there said it was a living nightmare. Most guys there just needed a little attitude adjustment to get with the program.

The best I saw was at the end of boot when you got your civilian clothes back, and the senior DI made the former fatties put their clothes back on. What a scream that was. One dude lost over 40pds in 3 months. That bad-ass knocked out the 5 mile run just like the rest of us--with a smile on our faces.

[justsomeguy1973]

16. Mmmmm donuts and guns!

Sign me up! lol

[alcibiades_mystery]

17. Because you are a DISGUSTING FATBODY Private Pile!

yeesh!

[Javaman]

29. A jelly Donut sir.

What the f**k is this?

A jelly Donut sir.

And are you allowed to eat jelly donuts Pvt. Pyle?

Sir No Sir!

And why is that Pyle?

Sir cause the Privates a little heavy Sir.

B*ll Sh*t your a disgusting F**kin fat body!

[jmowreader]

20. Is "essen macht frei" still in effect?

One of the most time-honored ways of shortening your enlistment is to eat your way out of the army--what my friend Karl referred to as "essen macht frei" (eating makes you free).

I figure within a year, if they don't stop the war they'll have to get rid of all the easy ways to bring Chapter 5--discharge for the convenience of the government--down on your newly-substandard head.

[CRF450]

21. Dad always told me this little tid bit...

When he was in Army basic training, the overweight guys lost weight, while the skinny guys gained weight.

[tom_paine]

26. That jibes with my own military experience.

And I was in the "Chair Force", or the Air Force, the least physically active and physically-centered of the service, with the Navy right behind. Army and Marines, obviously, are still stressing physical prowess in a very aggressive way.

But in basic, even we Chair Force recruits got physical, so to speak. Marching, running, and calisthenics all daily. Point is, even though I was in probably the "easiest" of the Basic Trainings in terms of physical rigor, I observed the same trends your Dad did.

I was in the USAF in the 80s, but I suspect it's much similar today.

So I am just chiming in to add my anecdotal evidence to confirm your dad's observation.

Plus, the Drill Instructors (in the USAF it's "Training Instructors"...or it was) single out the heavy guys early on for jobs which require extra effort and extra exercise.

Your Dad is definitely right, and I am sure that still holds true today.

It still doesn't change the "Falling Rome" nature of this move. At the height of the Roman Empire, in the first century AD, the Roman Army had a height requirement of 5' 5" or maybe even 5' 8", I can't remember. But what I do remember is that, during the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, in the 4th and 5th Centuries AD, the height requirement was lifted for the same reasons oveall the US Army is relaxing age and weight requirements.

At the end, the scholars I saw said the average height of the Roman Soldier by the end of the 4th Century was closer to 5' 2".

One suspects that, if humanity survives, 1000 years from now scholars will be saying the same things about us, but using the age and weight standards as examples.

Sad.

[Doctor Cynic]

23. They're fat enough to act as shields to bullets perhaps.