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Usans too fat to fight

E.J.Armstrong

Illuminator
E
Joined
Jan 4, 2002
Messages
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'... Rising rates of obesity among young Americans could undermine the future of the US military, two retired generals have warned.
More than a quarter of young Americans are now too fat to fight, they said. ...'

from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8655651.stm

Maybe in future they will only invade countries that have large natural burger resources?
 
Do you go through google to find all anti-American articles, or do you subscribe to a service which does it for you?
 
lionking said:
Do you go through google to find all anti-American articles, or do you subscribe to a service which does it for you?
Click to expand...

How is this anti-American? Are the two generals also pointing out the problem anti-American?
 
The original article isn't anti-American, EJ's spin of it is.

If a voice from heaven declared, "God hath declared that Americans, blessed in His eyes, from now on could walk on water", EJ would link to the CNN report of the event with a thread titled "Usans can't Swim".
 
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Interesting, the Japanese said the same thing about Americans in 1941. That's why they were so confident going into Pearl Harbor.

How'd that work out?
 
E.J.Armstrong said:
'... Rising rates of obesity among young Americans could undermine the future of the US military, two retired generals have warned.
More than a quarter of young Americans are now too fat to fight, they said. ...'

from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8655651.stm

Maybe in future they will only invade countries that have large natural burger resources?
Click to expand...

Don't despair. We still make a mighty fine hydrogen bomb.
 
This was widely reported; I even heard fairly detailed coverage of the report on NPR's Morning Edition.
'Tis a problem...When such individuals enter basic training an inordinate amount of time and training is required to get them into a state of fitness compatible with combat. Our current troops must carry a rather heavy load into combat, and be expected to run, cllimb, and maneuver with same.
 
Because basic training doesn't get you in shape to fight....

Oh, right, the extra time taken to get into shape will give the enemy all the time it needs to train more, because they have the resources to do that...

Wait, how is this a major problem?
 
I have had quite a few privates show up to my platoon fresh out of basic and AIT with clothes that look ridiculously too big for them. When asked why they look so jacked up, they explain how they lost 40+ pounds throughout training. I am not too worried about American obesity hindering our ability to fight. EJ this thread is retarded.
 
E.J.Armstrong said:
'... Rising rates of obesity among young Americans could undermine the future of the US military, two retired generals have warned.
Click to expand...
Do they have studies that confirm their opinions, or are these merely expert opinions?
More than a quarter of young Americans are now too fat to fight, they said. ...'
Click to expand...
Since when have we ever needed more than three quarters of the youth in the US to fight in a war? Is there a forseeable and plausible account this will be necessary in the near future?

from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8655651.stm

Maybe in future they will only invade countries that have large natural burger resources?
Click to expand...

Frankly I think this is the usual "good ol' days" bluster that is offered bandied about by people. Does it take more resources to get modern sedentary Americans into fighting shape than say those who live hard third world lives or our industrial revolution era forebears? Certainly. Has this extra resource necessity crippled our military might? Does it actually show any signs of doing so? I am curious if a cost analysis of obese recruits has been done. I would say this is similar to how the US youth of today are less likely to be competant or even familiar with firearms than previous generations. It simply is not as necessary or a part of the cutlure as it once was. So more resources must be delegated to ensuring new recruits are up to standards.
 
Back during the days before WWI, and during WWI, where a country needed to be able to quickly raise a military force, this may have mattered. In fact it did matter for England as many of their troops couldn't walk a mile. However, the nature of modern warfare, with a large standing, well-trained armed forces maintained, it is a non-issue for anyone besides the basic training drill instructors. Obviously not every training technique is suitable, or safe, for those considerably over weight. Pre-basic basic anyone?
 
And the trend continue:

Let N be the number of posts made by EJ, and T the number of threads started by him, then we have:
latex.php


Please stay on topic. Thank you.
Replying to this modbox in thread will be off topic  Posted By: LibraryLady
 
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Doctor Evil said:
And the trend continue:

Let N be the number of posts made by EJ, and T the number of threads started by him, then we have:
latex.php
Click to expand...
:D

Please stay on topic. Thank you.
Replying to this modbox in thread will be off topic  Posted By: LibraryLady
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Americans are kick-ass. everyone hates us until they desperately need us. or our money.
 
Edited by LibraryLady: 
Edited for incivility


Please stay on topic.
Replying to this modbox in thread will be off topic  Posted By: LibraryLady
 
Last edited by a moderator:
tyr_13 said:
Because basic training doesn't get you in shape to fight....

Oh, right, the extra time taken to get into shape will give the enemy all the time it needs to train more, because they have the resources to do that...

Wait, how is this a major problem?
Click to expand...

The major issue would the lower the average physical performance of the troops. A little more time may get somebody to meet the minimum requirements, but we don't want a force that only meets the minimum. Just being able to pass the minimum standards gets you an army that won't really be able to pull it's weight when things get difficult.
 
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