Obesity, drugs, and mental illness thump

[Steve Beynon, reporter for Military.com specialized in ground combat. Previously covered Capitol Hill and the Department of Veterans Affairs for Stars and Stripes, Politico, The Washington Examiner, National Guard Magazine, Military Times, Cincinnati Enquirer, and Fox 19, is an Afghanistan war veteran, and a current non-commissioned officer in the National Guard. Bachelor’s degree in journalism and environmental policy from the University of Cincinnati] 5/2/2023, accessed 6/24/2023, “Army Expects to Miss Its Recruiting Goal Again This Year”, https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/05/02/we-are-going-fall-short-army-will-miss-its-recruiting-goal-year.html - JR

Army planners estimate only about 23% of 17- to 24-year-olds can meet the service's expectations, with many applicants failing the military's SAT-style entrance exam or being too overweight to serve. In August, to combat the worsening recruiting trends, the Army started the Future Soldier Preparatory Course. There, applicants who came up just shy on body fat or academic standards attend a pre-basic training course for whichever of those two standards they didn't satisfy for enlistment. Army leaders have touted the program as graduating roughly 3,300 out of 4,000 applicants who went onto basic training and who otherwise would not have been allowed to serve. Right now, the course is set to be able to train roughly 12,000 applicants per year. The Navy also started its own pre-basic courses in March. But that program can help with only one part of the worsening recruiting picture. Recruiters are reporting an issue with increased scrutiny on applicants' medical and mental health history, with issues such as years-old minor injuries or common prescriptions causing major headaches. Last year, the Pentagon launched Military Health System Genesis, a new electronic health record system, which gave the military unprecedented access to an applicant's medical and mental health background during the recruiting process -- especially for recruits from military families who received prior military medical care. Previously, minor health issues were largely overlooked during the enlistment process, often by the recruiter, as any snags could delay the recruiting process by months or make an applicant ineligible altogether. Army leaders, including Wormuth and Gen. James McConville, the service's top officer, have routinely said they will not lower the standards required for enlisting or commissioning. Meanwhile, the Navy has been more welcoming to applicants with low entrance exam test scores, and the Air Force and Space Force have been more forgiving with applicants who test positive for cannabis use during the enlistment process, as every service faces recruiting headwinds. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 22% of 12- to 19-year-old Americans are obese, and that percentage only climbs with age. SAT and ACT scores have also fallen in recent years, some of that being attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic's disruption of schools and poor access to quality education resources for children from low-income households. As test scores have plummeted and the obesity crisis has grown only more severe in the last decade, the Army has required soldiers to be more technically savvy. Noncommissioned officers are also increasingly expected to have a college degree and writing skills. And the Army Combat Fitness Test, or ACFT, is widely seen as the most comprehensive and difficult fitness test in the service's history, demanding troops diversify workout routines.