For those still considering their country’s participation in a high-intensity war against Russia, General Dominique Delawarde recommends taking careful account of the current state of NATO’s armed forces, and in particular the physical condition of military personnel.
When it comes to recruiting for the US Armed Forces, we realize that there are major problems in selecting sufficient numbers of physically fit volunteers. 77% of young Americans aged 17 to 24 are not fit enough to serve in the Armed Forces. The obesity rate among young people (aged 2 to 19) has risen from 17% in 2009 to 22% in 2022, and is still rising. Without wishing to stigmatize anyone, high-intensity wars cannot be won with overweight or obese soldiers, soldiers addicted to comfort, or even drugs. Out of an annual requirement of 55,000 recruits, 10,000 recruits fall short every year, which is not enough to meet the US budget…
High obesity rate in the US military
In its annual “Health of the Force” report for 2022, the Pentagon indicated that 21% of active US military personnel were obese. The 2021 report detailed the situation in the different services. While the elite Marine Corps had only 11% obese members, the US Army had 21%, the US Air Force 23% and the US Navy 27%.
The Department of Health document already warned of this problem, pointing out that an obese soldier is more likely to be injured. However, this proportion continues to rise rapidly. In the US Army, it has risen from 13% obese in 2015 to 21% in 2021.
The image of the leader
Today, the French Armed Forces also seem to be experiencing recruitment and, even more so, retention problems, including among officers. Reading the article below, and the comments probably written by military personnel, is edifying.
It’s true that for a soldier, the image of his or her leader and the trust placed in him or her, directly linked to his or her exemplarity, are important and condition loyalty. Although this fact is not mentioned by the Haut comité d’évaluation de la condition militaire in its report, we can better understand the difficulties officers have in retaining their loyalty when they look at the image of the Chief of the Armed Forces.