Recruiting crisis: Army expands plans to get weak, low-level in shape and uniformed newcomers

The U.S. Army is expanding its training program to attract more overweight, low-scoring people who want to wear uniforms, to address its worst recruiting crisis in decades and rise above its competitors. player like China.

Top brass announced the creation this month of three more companies running the Future Soldier Preparatory Course — helping stout newcomers get in shape and conduct basic training .

It comes after the Army last year dropped 15,000 troops from its 60,000 enlistment target, with generals voicing concerns about attracting the right recruits amid rising geopolitical tensions.

The number of young Americans who meet the Army’s physical and mental entry requirements has plummeted to just 23% in recent years. Covid-19 and the vibrant job market have made recruiting more difficult.

U.S. Army Future Soldiers Preparatory Course students conduct physical training at Fort Jackson in December 2022. They have access to nutritionists, therapists, and nutritionists. physical material and athletics coach

Major General Curtis Buzzard, the commanding general of Fort Benning, Georgia, said in a statement that the fat camps have helped candidates tap into their ‘untapped potential’ and are willing to serve them ‘without the need for service. must sacrifice the necessary qualities in the whole force’.

Pre-basic training camps are aimed at candidates who have 2 to 6 percent more body fat than the Army allows, or who lack the academic standards necessary for enlistment.

Promotional videos show heavy-bodied candidates with buzz cuts lining up in groups to lift weights and attempt to run through fields carrying warm balls or volleyballs across the pitch.

They have access to nutritionists, physiotherapists and athletics coaches, and the opportunity to check in every three weeks. They must complete basic training within 90 days or they will be fired.

A pilot scheme began in Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in August. It welcomed 3,206 students last year, with 2,965 – or 93% – graduating into basic combat training.

The Army this month will add two more companies at Fort Jackson and launch a company-scale version of the academic track at Fort Benning, it said in a statement this week.

Army promotional videos show heavy-bodied candidates with buzz cuts lining up in groups to lift weights and attempt to run through fields carrying warm balls or medicine balls behind them. surname

Gary Brito, commander in chief of the Army Training and Doctrine Command, said the camps have prepared newcomers for the ‘rigor of basic training’ that the Army doesn’t need must ‘sacrifice quality for quantity’.

The extended training camps come as Pentagon officials warn that forces, especially the Army, are struggling to attract recruits, undermining efforts to maintain a lead. militarily against strategic rival China.

Last year, the Pentagon said the Army had missed its goal of recruiting 25% or 15,000 troops for fiscal 2022. In July, it also cut its forecast for the overall size of the force and forecast. another decline in 2023.

Lieutenant General Xavier Brunson, commander of Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, in September blamed the crisis on young Americans being too fat or committing crimes to defend their country.

‘Some of the challenges we face are obesity, we have pre-existing medical conditions, we have behavioral health problems, we have crime, people with felonies and we use drugs,’ Brunson said.

It’s a different story for those in the force.

A Pentagon report warned this month that more than a quarter of active-duty service members struggle to get enough food on the table, and many are too worried about suicide in their careers to ask for help. help.

Army commanders have spoken of ‘unprecedented challenges’ in recruiting new recruits, which led to a shortage of up to 15,000 soldiers last year. Pictured: Military recruiters at a career fair in Michigan

The comprehensive study conducted by RAND Corporation researchers paints a bleak picture of military life, with 25.8% of service members unable to provide enough food for their families to ‘live a decent life’. Live active and healthy’.

The researchers found that those most affected at the start of their careers, serving in the Army or to a lesser extent in the Navy, often live on bases in Texas, Georgia, California, North Carolina, and Texas. Virginia.

Many people complain that they frequently skip meals, that grocery trips don’t fill the pantry for as long as expected, or that they simply can’t afford to put balanced meals on the table. .

Worse still, many refuse to ask for help, in cases where commanders think they’re mismanaged financially, hurting their career opportunities and even leading to a loss of security clearance.

The 181-page document, produced for Congress, is just the latest study to highlight the struggles of cash-strapped servicemen, and it comes as the Army confronts a bad recruiting crisis. worst in decades.