Recruitment numbers for the Army are at historic lows as Americans are either too fat or criminal to join the defend the country, an Army general warned.Lt. Gen Xavier Brunson, the commander of Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, theorized as to why recruitment is so low following a July statement from the Army that announced it wouldn't meet its 485,000 recruitment goal for 2022, falling short by a staggering 20,000 recruits.
Officers across the country are failing to meet recruitment numbers as fewer youth are qualified to serve, which some blame on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some of the challenges we have are obesity, we have pre-existing medical conditions, we have behavioral health problems, we have criminality, people with felonies, and we have drug use,' Brunson told Spokesman Review.
'This is not an Army problem, this is an American Problem.'
To increase recruitment numbers, the Army plans to 'lower the gates' and find new ways to appeal to the armed services to youth, especially amid a the lowest deficit since after the Vietnam War, according to the New York Times.
'Only 23% of the people that are of age to serve are actually qualified,' Brunson said.
'This is now a condition. This is not an Army problem, so nationally what we have to look at is what's going on with our youth.'